You could replace "CrossFit" with "college" (or a lot of other things in life)
That's just an absurd statement. It implies that the problem is you - your over-training, or your inability to do the right things. But in CrossFit or in college, you are following a prescribed path someone else laid out. The author points out how the cult of CrossFit promotes blind following WOD/et al. So no - you can't replace CrossFit with college in this case and suggesting so implies that he/she did not truly read the article.
"You could replace "CrossFit" with "college" (or a lot of other things in life), and I think you'd find that again, the truth is really in a gray area, somewhere in between the opposing factions."
That is the entire sentence I wrote. Please, don't cherry pick (on the topic of not truly reading things). I'm making a statement about the nature of controversial things, where there are conflicting viewpoints. Often times both sides have valid points, despite being wildly opposed to each other.
Replace "college" in my statement with "politics". Or "medical studies". Or "emacs vs. vi". Same thing - the truth it somewhere in the middle.
I think the comparison is much more valid that you're making it out to be.
There's just as much "blind following" in many college programs as there may be in CrossFit, or even religion. Questioning what you're taught, or how you're taught it, or even the methods you've been told to use while learning the material, is tantamount to academic "death". So we see a lot of people just go along with it to avoid low marks or other forms of retribution they may face if they question the system. This can even cause physical and mental hardship for some people.
But I don't see how it isn't the participant's fault if the participant can't or won't say, "This could unreasonably harm me; I'm not doing it.", and then keeps participating to the point of harm taking place.
We're talking about something that they're voluntarily doing, after all. If these people lack the judgment to know what their boundaries are, and when they might be exceeding them, then I don't see how anyone but the participants are responsible for any harm that may happen. Nobody but the participant, regardless of whether they're participating in college or physical training, is responsible if the participant lacks the self control to stop engaging in a completely voluntary, yet harmful, behavior.
You could replace "CrossFit" with "college" (or a lot of other things in life)
That's just an absurd statement. It implies that the problem is you - your over-training, or your inability to do the right things. But in CrossFit or in college, you are following a prescribed path someone else laid out. The author points out how the cult of CrossFit promotes blind following WOD/et al. So no - you can't replace CrossFit with college in this case and suggesting so implies that he/she did not truly read the article.