The author at the center of the CrossFit/NCSA lawsuit has resigned from his position at The Ohio State University. Former associate professor Steven Devor resigned the day after his paper was retracted by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
The article in question dates back to 2013 when a study was published stating that subjects at a CrossFit gym had dropped out due to “overuse or injury.” The article was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, which is run by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
On May 30, the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research retracted the article, “CrossFit-based High Intensity Power Training Improves Maximal Aerobic Fitness and Body Composition” because the researchers had not followed Ohio State’s institutional review board (IRB) process.
The NSCA is still in the middle of litigation with CrossFit over the paper. A federal judge presiding over the case said last month, “There is plainly sufficient evidence to find willfulness, bad faith, or fault on the part of the NSCA in withholding the recently discovered documents and in lying under oath in the federal proceedings.”
The same judge ordered the NSCA to pay CrossFit over $73,000 to cover CrossFit’s legal fees.
