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Two black men who were kicked out of an LA Fitness last week and had the police called on them after a white manager wrongly accused them of not being members, are now speaking out about the incident and their plans to sue for racial discrimination.
LA Fitness members Tshyrad Oates posted a video of himself at a Secaucus, NJ, location and explained in a now viral video how he and his friend Rachid Maiga, were humiliated by staff who told then they needed to leave even after they proved they were members, reports the Atlanta Black Star.
“She’s like, oh you guys gotta’ leave. You guys didn’t play. I’m like, I’m a member. I signed in with a guest pass from you and she’s like ‘oh no you’re friend.’ Basically kinda saying like I snuck him in,” Oates said.
—LA Fitness fires 3 employees for racially profiling Black member in viral video—
His friend was a card-carrying member too.
Maiga said: “I told her I am a member and she said if you guys don’t get out I’m going to call the police.”
Police were called on the two black men.
Maiga said he went to his locker to get his membership badge and brought it back to the front desk so it could be scanned and he could prove he belonged there. That’s when he started to record the ordeal on his phone.
He said he started recording because he knew nobody would believe him. Oastes posted it on Facebook and the video went viral.
“We proved that we were members and said we’re going to work out now and went back to working out and it should have been the end of the situation,” Oates said.
But it wasn’t. The men said another manager stormed into the gym and threatened to kick them out.
“You guys need to go. You need to go or else you’re outta’ here in handcuffs,” Maiga recalls the manager said.
He replied: “I’m a member here, I can’t just be kicked out.”
Maiga said that’s when the manager let his ego get the best of him. He then told him his membership would be immediately terminated.
In the meanwhile, more police officers piled into the gym and followed the men around as they gathered their belongings as if they were criminals.
“It was humiliating,” said Maiga.
—Shocking video shows former NFL player being violently arrested and choked by Georgia cops—
LA Fitness responded and said:
“Regrettably staff unnecessarily escalated the situation and called the police rather than work through it. Clearly this was a longtime member with a current, valid membership.”
The three employees involved were fired from the company.
A corporate rep with LA Fitness apologized and said that the men are welcome. But Oates and Maiga say it’s not enough. They’re hired a Civil Rights attorney and plan to sue.
Maiga said “There needs to be a change. Something has to change.”
Said Oates: “We have to say something, continuously speak up, not be nervous to have this conversation. We want people to continue to talk about it until they realize that this is wrong.”
The manager who confronted the two men says she doesn’t believe there was racial profiling and said she and the three employees involved were wrongly terminated.
Sounds like everyone at LA Fitness need some Starbucks unconscious bias training.
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