Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit Inc., will sell the gym company he founded more than two decades ago following backlash over his comments about the killing of George Floyd, The Wall Street Journal reports.
CNN Business reported earlier this month Glassman told gym owners on a June 6 conference call that company leadership was "not mourning for George Floyd." He then tweeted a series of controversial statements that caused Reebok and Rogue Fitness to pull their brand partnerships with his company, and hundreds of gyms across the country ended their affiliation with CrossFit.
Glassman will sell the company, which is privately held, to technology entrepreneur and former Oracle Corp. executive Eric Roza, who owns the CrossFit Sanitas gym in Boulder, Colorado. He will also assume the role of CEO, replacing Glassman's successor, Dave Castro. The details of the sale have not been disclosed, but it is expected to close in July.
"In the past weeks, divisive statements and allegations have left many members of our community struggling to reconcile our transformative experiences in the local box with what we've been reading online," Roza said in a statement posted to Twitter on Wednesday. "My view is simple: Racism and sexism are abhorrent and will not be tolerated in CrossFit. We open our arms to everyone, and I will be working hard to rebuild bridges with those whose trust we have lost."