Member-only story
New York Road Runners And Performative Allyship
Michael Capiraso became CEO of NYRR in 2015 but his leadership has recently come under fire by a group of NYRR employees for cultivating a toxic culture and failing to address diversity concerns within the organization. NYRR’s outward facing media may describe a diverse community and diverse viewpoints but a group of current and former NYRR employees claim this is yet another example of performative allyship in our community.
NYRR is responsible for the world’s largest marathon — NYC Marathon — and employees allege that the growth of the marathon has taken precedent over NYRR’s original mission statement. NYRR’s current direction falls on the shoulders of current CEO and President Michael Capiraso who has cultivated a reactionary culture that features a lack of transparency where employees fear retaliation if they come forward with their experiences.
Michael Capiraso And The Call To Step Down
While talking with NYRR staff this week, it became evident that Capiraso is keeping these problems from the NYRR board and the running community at large.
“Capiraso has the growth and revenue numbers from the world’s largest marathon in his back pocket and uses that as a shield against accountability”, one current NYRR employee told me in a zoom call last week.
