A white man
The incident, which forced staff to kick the hostile man out, occurred at the 24 Hour Fitness branch at UTC Mall in La Jolla, San Diego on Dec. 10.
The white man, who has been nicknamed “Chad,” reportedly wanted the squat racks being used by the Asian man.
Presumably losing patience, the white man started yelling at the Asian man with slurs mostly related to the coronavirus.
“I don’t go to your chink country and spread a chink kung flu virus,” he said, according to a video shared by Jackfroot.
Other gym members reportedly confronted the man, but he continued to “yell a myriad of racial slurs” at them.
The Asian man can be seen standing up for himself in one clip, but it’s unclear how long the other man’s racist tirade went.
Aside from coronavirus slurs, the man allegedly used the word “terrorist” and stated, “Go clean my toilet, Gonzolas.”
The incident quickly sparked outrage on social media, with many calling to have his membership revoked.
“Come at me, Chad. I’m always at the platform from 4:30 – 5:30. I can show you how to work your legs instead of your mouth,” one Instagram user wrote.
“Start punching these racist people in the mouth. Make them think twice of the teeth they want to salvage,” another suggested.
Actor and director Bart Kwan chimed in, “Man I wished I was there last week. I would’ve kissed him with my COVID mouth.”
In a statement to NextShark, 24 Hour Fitness explained that the company has ended the man’s membership following his “abhorrent behavior” in the incident.
“At 24 Hour Fitness we have always maintained a commitment to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy club environment for our team members, club members and guests that embraces and values diversity and inclusion. We are appalled by the incident and the conduct displayed at the 24 Hour Fitness UTC club in San Diego yesterday; we do not tolerate racism in our clubs. We are proud of how our club team was able to de-escalate the situation and have taken the proper steps to ensure a safe and inclusive club environment.”
Feature Image Screenshots via @jackfroot
