Not just Starbucks: LA Fitness profiles, ejects, bans longtime member for working out while black
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While everyone was still (rightfully) raging at a Philadelphia Starbucks for racially profiling black male customers as dangerous users of restrooms, another national chain was doing the same damn thing in New Jersey, with just a fraction of the public scrutNot just Starbucks: LA Fitness profiles, ejects, bans longtime member for working out while black
While everyone was still (rightfully) raging at a Philadelphia Starbucks for racially profiling black male customers as dangerous users of restrooms, another national chain was doing the same damn thing in New Jersey, with just a fraction of the public scrutiny. On Monday, Tshyrad Oates joined an unnamed friend for an afternoon workout at the Secaucus LA Fitness; his friend, who describes himself as a paying member of the gym for “at least eight years,” was able to secure Oates’ access to the facility with a four-day guest pass. Oates’ friend, the actual gym member, arrived first, and Oates joined him a bit later. Both were required to present proper credentials to enter. But according to Oates, about 30 minutes later, the female LA Fitness employee who had scanned Oates’ guest pass interrupted his workout. After about a half hour I was approached by this same employee telling me that I had to leave or pay and I explained to her that I just signed in with her with the guest pass. She stated that it was my friend who did not pay (unaware that her manager had already signed him in with his membership pass). After explaining that they did, in fact, have every right to be there, and asserting that they were embarrassed by the implications, the men continued to exercise. The female employee then apparently called the police. We continued our workout and next thing we know 2 police men show up questioning us on why we were (there) with no memberships, we explained to them about our guest pass and rescanned my friend’s member tag and it resulted in current active (statuses). (The La Fitness employee did look at the computer screen that showed current member status and said nothing.) With their right to be in the gym once again validated, and, ostensibly, the police on their side, Oates says the men resumed their workouts. But the LA Fitness staff weren’t having it. The female employee summoned her manager, who then called MORE police, and demanded the men stop filming; police told him that Oates had every right to record videos. Read more