I made myself a promise that I would not engage in debate about CrossFit on the internet because it is generally pointless. People are going to have their opinions, and getting myself upset over the ignorance of others is a losing proposition for me. However, because I was IN this piece (jerking) and there when filming took place, I feel I must respond to this. In addition, Mike Burgener, along with CrossFit, has changed my life in so many positive ways that by staying silent, I feel I am complicit in perpetuating the one-sided reporting of this piece and hanging a man whom I love dearly out to dry – a man for whom INTEGRITY is EVERYTHING! Clearly, Mark Fainaru Wada and ESPN could learn a thing or two about integrity from Mike Burgener. This is yellow journalism at its worst, and frankly, I am shocked that an award-winning journalist like Mark Fainaru Wada would stoop to such low levels to create a sensational piece of garbage that I would expect of a publication like The National Enquirer. First, at no time was it ever disclosed to me, or to my knowledge, anyone else involved, that this piece would be a smear campaign against CrossFit. When ESPN contacted Coach Burgener, and he in turn contacted me, the piece was being pitched as a promotional piece for the CrossFit Games. As such, it, naturally it was assumed by all parties present that it would be a positive piece on CrossFit. Second, I emailed Mark Fainaru Wada after the piece and specifically thanked him for doing a segment on Coach Mike Burgener stating that this man has definitely changed my life for the better, along with thousands of others. Mark responded that the piece was on CrossFit, not Coach Burgener, but that he “was confident Coach Burgener will be prominently displayed.” I’m not sure what Mark Fainaru Wada considers “prominent,” but I would disagree that taking a few words out of context and twisting them to fit his agenda is not the kind of prominent, nor honest, journalistic portrayal that most people would appreciate. Mr. Fainaru Wada had an opportunity right there to at the very least, garner an opinion from the “other” side of the coin, and at the very most, disclose what this piece truly would be about. Again, this lie by omission brings his journalistic ethics into question. I do not know Kevin Ogar at all, but from what I understand he is a unique person in that he accepted responsibility for his own injury and has since tried to turn it into a positive for both himself and others. I am willing to speculate he does not appreciate his accident being exploited for ESPN’s less-than-upfront motives. This was a completely unbalanced, biased, and dishonest piece and I am horrified that ESPN would release a piece that is so clearly piece-mealed from fiction, half-truth and done in such a narrow scope. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I would never have participated in filming for this piece if I knew the slant it would take. Imagine my surprise when I saw this this morning. And I would never presume to speak for Mike Burgener, but knowing him as well as I do, I think it is safe to say he would never have agreed to this either. So, congratulations Mark Fainaru Wada, you lied to the most honest man on the planet in order to make a tabloid piece on a sport we all love, and you exploited a parapalegic to make your poorly supported point about a fictitious injury rate in CrossFit. You are clearly a real man. - Anneke L Marvin
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 23:51:01 +0000
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