EDMONTON -- At least two Edmonton gyms are breaking their affiliations with CrossFit after the fitness giant's former CEO made an insensitive comment about George Floyd.
On Saturday, then CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman responded to a tweet from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that read "racism is a public health issue" with, "It's FLOYD-19."
Since then, Reebok ended its partnership with CrossFit, hundreds of gyms associated with the company removed its branding, and late Tuesday afternoon, CrossFit announced Glassman would retire as CEO.
The owners of Edmonton gym Black Tusk Athletics called Glassman's comments "entirely inappropriate."
"It kind of really shows his character and we can't be on board with something as ill-hearted as that," said Jason Lee.
Another local gym, Capital City Athletics, is donating its $3,000-affiliate fee to two organizations that support people of colour.
"We're a very diverse and inclusive group and we don’t really wanna associate ourselves with somebody that's gonna make out tweets and basically make fun or poke fun at somebody who lost their life," Clayton McAdam said.
Glassman founded CrossFit 20 years ago. He will be replaced by Dave Castro, formerly the director of CrossFit Games and co-director of training.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jay Rosove
