Here Are The Viral Videos That Got L.A. Fitness Employees Fired For Booting Two Black Men

Before #BoycottLAFitness had a chance to get off the ground, the health club chain has reportedly fired three employees involved in another racially-charged incident that was caught on viral video.

According to NJ.com, an L.A. Fitness in Secaucus, New Jersey fired a manager and two other employees over the treatment of two black male patrons, one of which was a longtime member of the gym and the other his friend who was admitted on a four-day guest pass. The man on the four-day pass, Tshyrad Oates (pronounced Sha-rod), posted four videos of the incident that, like the Philly Starbucks video, quickly went viral and ultimately resulted in an official apology from the company and the dismissal of the three employees.

According to Oates, they both checked in with no problems, but an employee interrupted them in the middle of their workout to ask for evidence that they were members. Citing “multiple problems” over the years with employees at the club, the member, who is unnamed, said that he felt “racially profiled.” After a few minutes, the manager called the police to remove the men. Refusing to leave, the men recorded what took place. In the videos, the member repeatedly points out the lack of consistency in questioning him. “I’m the only person in the gym who has to scan in again,” he says. He later says he was told by the manager that his membership is being revoked. Though the manager tells him he can’t film there, the police inform the manager that he has every legal right to film.

Here are the four video Oates posted as well as his account of the incident:

L.A. Fitness responded to the incident in a statement Wednesday.

“Regrettably, our staff unnecessarily escalated the situation and called the police rather than work through it, ” the company said in a statement to NJ Advance Media. “Clearly, this is a long time member with a current, valid membership. We want to clarify that no membership was cancelled and no one, including the member’s guest, was banned from the club. We have spoken to the member to apologize and assured him that he and his guests are welcome in our clubs at all times.”

The company explained that the employee who approached the men about scanning for a second time was “unaware” that they had already checked in. The company told the outlet it would be “exploring potential training content and opportunities to better train our staff.”

The outlet confirmed on Wednesday that the three employees involved had been fired.

Related: Two Black Men Arrested At Philly Starbucks Break Silence