"It's Floyd-19." CrossFit founder and CEO Greg Glassman has taken less than 140 characters to bring the company down in just 24 hours. And that its 13,000 affiliates were already seriously suffering the consequences of the coronavirus, after several months with the facilities closed. But this controversial episode for which he has been accused of racism has once again demonstrated the power of social media and, ultimately, the importance of Internet exposure for the prestige of a company. Especially in a context of extreme sensitivity, with revolts and concentrations around the world due to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota (United States) at the hands of a policeman, and with the Black Lives Matter movement blackening the walls of Instagram.

The future of CrossFit is uncertain as a result of the comment of its CEO on Twitter. As of Monday night, more than 50 organizations have disassociated themselves from the badge condemning those words, major sponsorships such as that of the sports firm Reebok have fallen, and 400 box (personalized training centers in small groups) that were affiliated with CrossFit with a fee of $ 3,000 has been unsubscribed, according to the specialized portal CrossFit Morning Chalk Up.

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How a brand falls apart

Two words have gone around the world, demonstrating the danger of expressing an opinion without measuring the controversy it can generate when you also represent an emblem in the world of fitness. Glassman was responding to information from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that said: "Racism and discrimination are critical public health problems that require an urgent response."

Immediately, athletes of the stature of Katrin Davidsdottir, Rich Froning Jr. or Tia-Clair Toomey showed their public disagreement and some of them even withdrew from CrossFit Games, the biggest event in the world of CrossFit. At the same time, Reebok said in a statement that, despite its recent talks on a new agreement, "in light of recent events, we have made the decision to end our partnership ." And chains of American gyms like Magnus, Train & Able and Petworth Fitness were breaking their affiliation, with the consequent public discredit when announcing it in networks. "After eight years as a CrossFit affiliate, we are ending our affiliation," they broadcast from Magnus.

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Glassman then proceeded to apologize the same way, a tweet , but on his company's account: "I, CrossFit HQ and the CrossFit community will not tolerate racism. I made a mistake in choosing the words yesterday. My heart is very sad for the pain this has caused. It was a mistake, not a racist act, but a mistake. "

However, it doesn't seem like apologizing is going to put out the fire, especially when so many private companies are taking action against racism these days.

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Will the movement continue?

" CrossFit represents a physical activity, a methodology and a passion to help improve the health of people who will not fade, because it goes beyond a value judgment issued in a tweet by the person in charge. What we do not know it is whether this training system will continue under the CrossFit umbrella or it will have another name, structure and organization. But we are 100% sure that it will continue, "says Spanish athlete Alejandro Timoneda, coach at Courage, one of the box in Madrid affiliated with CrossFit and specialist in creating content on social networks.

This Tuesday he will do a live show with his followers to talk to the community about the controversy generated, where he will also deal with the subject of CrossFit Games. Will they be held after the commotion? "2020 is being brutal. Of course, we do not support any racist behavior and we have to see how events evolve before any decision is made," he adds.

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