CrossFit employee fired after making homophobic comments
Devout Christian Russell Berger was let go from the gym chain after homophobic comments
By Steve Brown
A CrossFit employee was fired after making homophobic comments on Twitter.
Russell Berger, a devout Christian, got himself in hot water when he tweeted about a CrossFit gym which cancelled a workout to celebrate Pride Month, BuzzFeed reported.
He wrote: “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.
“The intolerance of the LGBTQ ideology toward any alternative views is mind-blowing.”
His tweets were soon deleted from his account but many users had screenshotted the messages and he was subsequently placed on unpaid leave.
Before he was let go from the gym branch, CrossFit found and CEO Greg Glassman told Buzzfeed News: “He needs to take a big dose of ‘shut the fuck up’ and hide out for a while.
“It’s sad. 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.
“The whole company is upset. This changes his standing with is. What that looks like, I don’t know. It’s so unfortunate.”
It was then announced on Wednesday (June 6), that Berger had been fired from the company.
On CrossFit’s official Twitter account, they wrote: “CrossFit is a diverse community in every way, and that’s what makes us strong.
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
“No matter who you are, how you’re built, what you believe, or who or how you love – we are proud of you.
“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.”