In June 2020, Black Lives Matter uprisings once more exploded across the United States following yet another case of police brutality, resulting in the death of an unarmed African American citizen, George Floyd. Members of the public filmed Floyd’s nearly nine-minute execution, forcing institutions beyond law enforcement to confront how they may be laced with racism. On 6 June, however, CrossFit’s then CEO Greg Glassman replied to a social media post which read, “Racism is a public health issue,” by writing, “It’s FLOYD-19.” Earlier that same day Glassman stated to CrossFit gym owners in a private Zoom call, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd—I don’t think me or any of my staff are. Can you tell me why I should mourn for him? Other than it’s the white thing to do.” Glassman’s comments were widely criticized and led to his prompt resignation. Sport has a long history entrenched with racism, with CrossFit as a sport and fitness regime hardly immune to racism’s influences. This chapter will cover the ways racism materialises in society, institutionally, interpersonally and internally. Examples drawn from CrossFit will be presented to illustrate how the different manifestations of racism occur in actual practice. The chapter will also explore the concept of white fragility to showcase how opportunities to address racism are lost when white people fail to acknowledge racism as a significant dimension of a social setting or, worse yet, mock the very idea that racial inequality matters.

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Making the Invisible Visible: Calling Out Racism Within CrossFit

  • David Tokiharu Mayeda

摘要

In June 2020, Black Lives Matter uprisings once more exploded across the United States following yet another case of police brutality, resulting in the death of an unarmed African American citizen, George Floyd. Members of the public filmed Floyd’s nearly nine-minute execution, forcing institutions beyond law enforcement to confront how they may be laced with racism. On 6 June, however, CrossFit’s then CEO Greg Glassman replied to a social media post which read, “Racism is a public health issue,” by writing, “It’s FLOYD-19.” Earlier that same day Glassman stated to CrossFit gym owners in a private Zoom call, “We’re not mourning for George Floyd—I don’t think me or any of my staff are. Can you tell me why I should mourn for him? Other than it’s the white thing to do.” Glassman’s comments were widely criticized and led to his prompt resignation. Sport has a long history entrenched with racism, with CrossFit as a sport and fitness regime hardly immune to racism’s influences. This chapter will cover the ways racism materialises in society, institutionally, interpersonally and internally. Examples drawn from CrossFit will be presented to illustrate how the different manifestations of racism occur in actual practice. The chapter will also explore the concept of white fragility to showcase how opportunities to address racism are lost when white people fail to acknowledge racism as a significant dimension of a social setting or, worse yet, mock the very idea that racial inequality matters.