Dave Castro, CrossFit’s Director of Sport, has issued a public apology to the Đukić family following a statement made by Luka Đukić on Thursday. Luka addressed the tragic death of his brother, Lazar Đukić, during the 2024 CrossFit Games, expressing grief and concerns over how the situation was handled.

In a statement released on September 5, Luka Đukić revealed that after his brother Lazar’s death during the Games, Dave Castro approached him about continuing the competition as a way to honor his brother’s memory.

“‘I don’t care,’” Luka replied, according to his post, “‘I don’t think I am thinking clearly so this decision should not be up to me.’” 

You can READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE

Luka stated that Castro reportedly responded, “It’s not up to you anyways.”

Despite this, Luka later explained that Castro went on to present the decision to continue the Games as the “wish of the family.”

Dave Castro Reponds

Castro admitted, “I should never have said that the decision to continue the CrossFit Games in August was ‘blessed’ by their family. At the time, the decision was made to continue the Games and allow our athletes to compete – and we respected those athletes who decided to withdraw.”

Throughout the weekend, a total of 12 athletes chose to withdraw from the 2024 CrossFit Games.

He continued ” “This decision was made by CrossFit and I never intended to put the weight of this decision on Luka, the Đukić family or our CrossFit athletes,” he added. 

Castro ended his statement by acknowledging that he had made a mistake.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this before and I absolutely made a mistake. I sincerely regret any pain I’ve caused.”