SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Reebok says it has cut ties with CrossFit after the fitness training company's CEO invoked George Floyd's name in a Twitter post chastising a health group for saying that racism was a public health problem.
On Saturday, the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation tweeted: "Racism is a Public Health Issue."
CrossFit chief executive and founder Greg Glassman replied: "It's Floyd-19," a reference to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
It's FLOYD-19.
— Greg Glassman (@CrossFitCEO) June 6, 2020
On Sunday, Glassman tweeted an apology for the tweet.
"I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism," he wrote. "I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday. My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake."
.@CrossFitCEO: "I, CrossFit HQ, and the CrossFit community will not stand for racism. I made a mistake by the words I chose yesterday.
My heart is deeply saddened by the pain it has caused. It was a mistake, not racist but a mistake.
— CrossFit (@CrossFit) June 8, 2020
Floyd died two weeks ago after a white Minneapolis officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes.
Reebok had been in negotiations to extend its contract with CrossFit.
