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24 Sports Law. J. 215 (2017)
CrossFit, Inc. v. National Strength & Conditioning Ass'n: Industry Competitor Blames CrossFit for Injuring People in an Effort to Avoid Injuring Its Own Business

handle is hein.journals/sportlj24 and id is 223 raw text is: CrossFit, Inc. v National Strength & Conditioning Ass'n: Industry Competitor Blames CrossFit for Injuring People in an Effort To Avoid Injuring Its Own Business I. OVERVIEW .................................. ..... 215 II. BACKGROUND .......................................... 216 III. THE COURT'S DECISION ..................................... 220 A. The NSCA's Motion for Summary Judgment.................220 B. CrossFit's Motion for Summary Judgment .... .....222 IV. ANALYSIS .................................. ...... 223 V. CONCLUSION ...................................... 226 I. OVERVIEW For the last decade and a half, a new and increasingly popular exercise regimen called CrossFit has been making a growing mark on the fitness industry.' The company's successful fitness model emphasizes high intensity and functionality, while also offering a unique trainer certification program and licensing to gyms.2 The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) is just the opposite-a well- established nonprofit that focuses on educational development through athletic training certifications and publishes an academic journal, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (ISCR). The two organizations butted heads in November of 2013, when the ISCR published an article alleging 16% of participants in a CrossFit-based research study dropped out due to overuse or injury. The widely circulated study, conducted by Steven Devor and several other researchers, tracked the statistics of a group of people participating in a CrossFit program called The Challenge.' Though the article had an overall positive tone about CrossFit, the new fitness company took issue with the publication; it alleged that the NSCA published unfavorable injury data because of the company's quick rise in the fitness industry creating an existential threat to the NSCA.6 As a result, CrossFit filed 1. See CrossFit, Inc. v. Nat'l Strength & Conditioning Ass'n, No. l4cvl 191 JLS (KSC), slip op. at 1 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 21, 2016). 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Id. at 1-2. 5. Id at 1. 6. Id (internal quotations omitted). 215