"Dirty Kanza" founder Jim Cummins has been fired by the organizers of the popular gravel race over a social media post claiming that the shooting of a black man by police in Atlanta this week was "justified."

Cummins, who founded Dirty Kanza in 2006, was removed from his role as "chief gravel officer" Saturday night by Lifetime, which now runs the event.

He had posted on Facebook about the killing of Rashard Brooks, who was shot and killed by police officers attempting to arrest him on Friday. Brooks' death occurred at a time when repeated killings of African Americans by police have sparked anti-racist demonstrations across the United States and around the world.

Cummins, who has now deleted his Facebook account, reposted a video of Daniel Clary's attempted arrest two years ago. Cummins added the following message: "Watch this whole video. And if you still believe that the officer who shot Rayshard Brooks after he stole the officer's stun gun and used it against him was not justified in shooting Mr. Brooks: ...... Unfriend me now."

Lifetime, which also runs the Big Sugar and Crusher in the Tushar Gravel events, released a statement on Saturday.

"After reviewing the post made by the founder of Dirty Kanza, we found it to be inappropriate and insensitive, and as an organization we oppose it. Upon investigation, we have parted ways with this individual.

"One of our core principles is to provide a safe, trusting and respectful environment for all our members, clients and team members.

"We continue to take all such issues with equal seriousness by conducting thorough reviews and acting whenever we believe our principles have been violated."

Cummins had recently faced accusations that the name Dirty Kanza itself was racist; since Kanza sometimes refers to the Kaw Nation, a Native American tribe, it was perceived as a slur by those petitioning to change the event's name. 4 In May, Cummins co-signed an open letter from the race and Kaw Nation Chair Lynn Williams, in which both stated that they were "proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other."