News :: GLBT
Gay Lawyer Files Suit Alleging Fitness Club Confrontationby Kilian MelloyThursday Sep 6, 2007 A gay Atlanta lawyer who says that he was the target of anti-gay slurs and a locker-room assault at a health club has filed a suit after having his complaints about the incident ignored by the gym’s management.
The attorney, Seth Persily, filed his suit on August 7, claiming that an employee of one of L. A. Fitness’ Atlanta locations harassed him on July 18 and that his report of the incident went unanswered. The suit claims assault, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Persily had going to the club to work out for nearly six months when the incident happened. Said Persily,"When I went to the gym that morning, all I was interested in was working out. You never expect something like this to happen,"
Continued Persily, "I don’t think any company, especially ones with a large gay clientele, should tolerate that kind of behavior from its employees."
L. A. Fitness has over 200 locations in the United States and Canada, and has been a popular gym among gays and lesbians.
According to the suit, Persily was working out using an elliptical trainer when he overheard a woman and a gym employee at the next machine making anti-gay remarks. When Persily spoke up to ask them to desist, the gym employee remarked that "gays are nasty," and challenged Persily to fight.
The suit says that after Persily approached other club employees about filing a complaint about the incident, the employee in question intercepted him the locker room and tried to hit him.
According to Persily, he then filed a complaint and spoke with the facility’s manager, but that no response to his complaint was forthcoming.
Persily’s attorney, Steve Koval, similarly said that he contacted the manager of the gym, but that no response to the complaint was offered.
Said Koval, "After the L.A. Fitness employee told Seth that ’gays are nasty’ and assaulted him, the least L.A. Fitness could do is offer a prompt apology and respond to my client’s complaint and my phone call."
Added Koval, "It’s very disappointing that L.A. Fitness is apparently not taking this incident seriously."
Persily said that the lawsuit was less about money than asserting his, and others’, rights not to be harassed on account of their sexuality.
"When I saw this guy who was much bigger than me coming to attack me, I was quite scared," Persily said. "But after the incident was over, I knew that I didn’t have to be a victim and that I could force L.A. Fitness to deal with this if the company wouldn’t deal with it voluntarily."
Continued Persily, "This incident indicates to me that L.A. Fitness hasn’t properly trained its employees that its gay customers deserve the same respect as everybody else. The company certainly needs to do that, and make it very clear to the gay community that employees who hurl anti-gay insults don’t have a place there."
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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