CrossFit Lashes Out Against Humility; or, Employee Gets Fired for Opposing Pro-Gay Squats

Crossfit staffer Russell Berger, Chief Knowledge Officer for the fitness giant, has been fired over a tweet regarding gay pride.

Berger posted to Twitter Wednesday his opinion of a canceled workout originally arranged to honor LGBTQ Pride Month. The event had been scheduled by trainers at CrossFit Infiltrate in Indianapolis.

Russell wasn’t a fan of the idea behind the event:

“As someone who personally believes celebrating ‘pride’ is a sin, I’d like to personally encourage #CrossFitInfiltrate for standing by their convictions and refusing to host an @indypride workout.”

But actually, it wasn’t expressly about homosexuality; in truth, this was the Indiana gym’s explanation for the cancellation:

“Our underlying goal for the staff and members at CrossFit Infiltrate and our other gyms CrossFit White River and University Ave CrossFit, is total health and well-being for the individual and the community. Total health involves the body, the emotions, relationships, and the spirit. At the foundational detractor from health, as we believe God sets the parameters for, is pride. We believe that true health forever can only be found within humility, not pride. Humility is seeing oneself as they truly are, and as God truly defines them to be. As a business we will choose to deploy our resources towards those efforts and causes that line up with our own values and beliefs.”

Now re-read Berger’s text, in that context.

Nevertheless, some weren’t happy about the workout being called off.

Outsports referred to the email above as the gym owners “[doubling] down on their homophobia.”

The gay site wrote:

“CrossFit is taking the homophobia of spokesperson Russell Berger seriously.”

Effective immediately, Russell Berger has been placed on unpaid leave while management completes a thorough review.

— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018

As Outsports put it, “A CrossFit gym in Indianapolis has closed after gym staffers revolted when the gym’s owners canceled a planned LGBTQ Pride Event.”

Revolted??

CrossFit tweeted its total devotion to diversity:

CrossFit is a diverse community in every way, and that’s what makes us strong. No matter who you are, how you’re built, what you believe, or who or how you love—we are proud of you.

— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018

Sadly, however, that respectful diversity does not apply to the only type that actually matters — diversity of thought. CrossFit founder and CEO, Greg Glassman, made that clear in an interview with Buzzfeed:

“He needs to take a big dose of ‘shut the f*** up’ and hide out for awhile. It’s sad.”

Therefore, if you’re gay and proud, shout it from the rooftops; if you’re of another belief, shut the ____ up.

And so:

The statements made today by Russell Berger do not reflect the views of CrossFit Inc. For this reason, his employment with CrossFit has been terminated.

— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 6, 2018

Berger, incidentally, is a pastor in Huntsville, Alabama. Though he told Buzzfeed he regrets his tweet, he stands by the idea:

“It became way too difficult to discern between me making statements of personal opinion, and me speaking as a voice for CrossFit. My actual point I was making, I still affirm it.”

He also confirmed that he holds “orthodox, historic Christian beliefs.”

There are many things to take away from this story, including the noted paradigm of the cultural Left labeling anything they oppose as a “phobia.” And the crackdown of cultural Marxism — political correctness — onto what has become an intellectual police state.

However, the three things which stand out more to me are these:

• The stupidity of companies taking social or political stances in the first place. In the 1990’s, when you went to your local big-chain pharmacy, were you aware of their stance on gay marriage? How about free trade? What about the border? Or whether or not you should be able to buy a rifle at Wal-Mart? How about race relations or Islam? You didn’t know about any of that, because it didn’t matter. No one thought it did, including the company. They sold something, and you bought something. That was the limited notion of what a business was. These days, you can’t buy house shoes without being aware of the store’s publicly-unleashed rebel yell about whether a man in a dress should be allowed to enter a woman’s locker room.

In my opinion, businesses should stay out of the arena of sociopolitical debate, and simply focus on selling a product worth buying.

• The perplexing trajectory of the Pride movement: a company which provides a public service is going to host a special physical workout to congratulate people on their sexual interests? “You like doing what? Okay, then let’s all meet up and do consecutive pull-ups to toast that.”
• The growing danger of speaking one’s thoughts as a citizen on any form of social media, for fear of being fired by a company which is completely removed from your life as a private citizen.

These are strange — and, periodically, disconcerting — times.

Do you agree? If so, meet me on the corner for some jumping jacks in honor of that fact. And let loose, in the Comments section below.

And check out my other articles here. For another gay-related story, find my coverage of Solo: a Star Wars Story.

And seriously — follow Alex Parker on Twitter.

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