CrossFit Fired Their Spokesman, a Christian Pastor, for anti-LGBTQ Pride Tweets
- By Gary Nguyen --
- 09 Jun 2018 --
The CrossFit CEO said the company won’t tolerate such zealot views
Russell Berger, a spokesman of CrossFit, was sacked from the company after he posted homophobic tweets.[/tweetit] One particular tweet stood out. Berger defined LGBTQ pride as a kind of “sin.” The company was quick to react. Greg Glassman, the CEO of CrossFit, in a media interview, said Berger should stay quiet and stay low for some time. The head of the company further went on to say, “We do so much good work with such pure hearts — to have some zealot in his off-time do something this stupid, we’re all upset.” Berger was Chief Knowledge Officer of the CrossFit company.
CrossFit Fired Their Spokesman, a Christian Pastor, for anti-LGBTQ Pride Tweets[/tweetthis]
CrossFit first opened its doors in 2000. It offers a branded fitness regimen. The company has thousands of locations all over the world. Berger had worked for the company since 2009. He has co-authored an interesting CrossFit blog to document the work done to defend the company from any kind of misinterpretation. The other writer was Russ Greene. He said that Berger made a "grave mistake" by his actions. He also tweeted that Berger's prominence gave him an authoritative voice. It follows that the spokesman should have used such responsibility in a much more serious manner.
I worked with Russell Berger for years and consider him a friend. I do not agree with his views on homosexuality. At all. He made a grave mistake. His job gave him an authoritative voice on behalf of CrossFit and he should have taken that responsibility much more seriously.
— Russ Greene (@GreenPlusAnE) June 6, 2018
Berger's troubles started when he tweeted praise for a decision made by CrossFit Infiltrate, an affiliate in Indianapolis to cancel a workout created to honor the Pride Month of the LGBTQ community. The former spokesman wrote that as a person who holds the personal belief that celebrating "Pride" is a sin, he would like to personally encourage the CrossFit Infiltrate branch of standing for what they believe in. He is with the affiliate in the matter of refusal to host the @indypride workout. When the tweets were noticed by the CrossFit company, he was placed on unpaid leave while his claims were investigated. Berger was fired from his job a few hours later.
looks like the chief knowledge officer of crossfit… doesn't know much at all!! gay rights
— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) June 6, 2018
Berger is a resident of Huntsville, Alabama. He holds the position of pastor in the local church. Although Berger told the media he regrets making the statements he continues to stands by his beliefs.
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