Nicole Carroll Returns; Says “I Want to Be Part of this Future”
On June 7, Nicole Carroll, Co-Director of Training and one of CrossFit Inc’s longest-tenured employees chose to resign and walk away from the company. This morning, in an Instagram post, Carroll announced that she would be returning.
Carroll has been one of the most instrumental individuals in the growth and development of CrossFit from an underground, anti-establishment fitness movement, into the single greatest purveyor of health and fitness in the world with more than 13,000 affiliates in over 150 countries across the globe.
One big thing: Nicole Carroll returning to HQ is a huge move for the company as the CrossFit community took her loss hard and even created an online petition asking her to return to the staff. It also represents a significant vote of confidence for incoming owner and CEO, Eric Roza. Many in the community look to Carroll as a guiding force and will understand her move as an incredibly positive sign for the changes going forward at the top of the company.
From her statement: “Just over three weeks ago I resigned my position with CrossFit. Today, I could not be happier to make the announcement that I am returning,” she said.
- “Walking away from something I spent so many years helping build; my livelihood, the only career I’ve known and a team whom I love dearly, was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make; both personally & professionally. While it may have appeared that a single issue or instance prompted my leaving, this was not the totality of it,” she continued.
- “However, that’s in the past. At this time, I want to focus on the present and my hope for the future.”
- “I am greatly encouraged by the conversations I’ve shared with Eric Roza (@rozaeric) over the last couple of weeks. In fact, with each interaction, I’m filled with ever more optimism. There is hope and healing in the air for the community. There is an authentic commitment to creating a healthy & inclusive company culture, mending relationships, innovating forward, and restoring a sense of pride in the CrossFit name. I want to be part of this future,” she concluded.
How did we get here: In a letter to her seminar staff team, she wrote, “a line has been drawn to where each of us will be held accountable for words that do not represent who we have been. Our loyalties will come into conflict with our values; individually and as a community. We will be subjected to defend ourselves against all manner of attacks.”
- “The pain and lived reality of the black community has been mocked, and the sincere hurt, confusion, anxiety & hopelessness that I know many of you feel over current events has been disregarded.”
- “At a time of the greatest economic and social instability this country has seen in our lifetime, you have been put in the unconscionable position of having to choose between your livelihood and aligning with something you do not believe in, with a diminishment of what we stand for. In my greatest of conscience, I can not stand with that.”
Big changes: Since her resignation, CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman stepped down as CEO and announced his retirement while placing Dave Castro, Director of the CrossFit Games and Co-Director of Training with Carroll as CEO. Then on June 24, Castro announced that the company would be sold to Eric Roza, a long-time affiliate owner and successful tech entrepreneur. These developments have begun a process of changing the company culture, healing the broader community and restoring confidence in the brand.
Go Deeper:
- “Nicole Carroll Resigns”
- “Glassman Resigns; Castro in as CEO”
- “Dave Castro Promises to Change Culture at HQ”
- “Breaking: CrossFit Inc. Selling to Eric Roza, Affiliate Owner and Entrepreneur”
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