That's really awful. Does he cat back his deadlifts? That drives me nuts. It's a shame that he's been able to get away with injuring people for so long just because he has the right look and can talk a good game. Admittedly, I've been somewhat out of that world for the last year because I joined this hole in the wall gym that literally just exists so the owners can use good equipment and not have to deal with the bull crap typically associated with gym chains. It's basically just a garage with a couple racks, a platform, a couple benches, and some other stuff in it. No PTs. No cardio equipment. No one there who doesn't already have at least a little bit of an idea of what they're doing.
No one at my gym Crossfit much either. It's a mix of powerlifters, strongmen, and Olympic lifters and the Oly guys in particular are pretty against it. They make their opinion on Crossfit very clear. When people want to try it, I hate to steer them away because I think a program that gets people interested in lifting is a good thing and it's a lot more approachable than just starting from scratch with the barbell by yourself. But I also can't say I would ever recommend it either because it just seems like a recipe to get hurt, burnt out, and stall hard after the newbie gains are done.
That is a lot of gyms for that small of an area. Do you think a group barbell class would be able to stay alive in an environment that's so oversaturated?