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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

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