CrossFit 'Researcher': LGBT 'Pride Is a Sin'

CrossFit's legal researcher, Russell Berger, was fired after making his dislike for gay people public, Buzzfeed reports.

Berger, a de facto spokesman for the successful fitness chain, initially spoke out in defense of an Indianapolis CrossFit location that canceled a Pride event with reasoning that appeared homophobic. In a now-deleted tweet defending the decision, Berger called Pride "a sin."

Berger wrote more tweets: "Thank you #CrossFitInfiltrate for standing by your convictions and refusing to celebrate sin by hosting an @IndyPride workout. The intolerance of the LGBTQ ideology toward any alternative views is mind-blowing... The tactics of some in the LGBTQ movement toward dissent is an existential threat to freedom of expression... Thankfully I work for a company that tolerates disagreement. I have homosexual coworkers who I love and respect, and as far as I am aware, they aren't demanding I be punished for my views."

Punished he was -- CrossFit CEO Greg Glassman placed Berger on unpaid leave before firing him Wednesday evening. Glassman also gave an interview in which he called Berger a "zealot" who needed to "shut the fuck up."