6 Planet Fitness gyms in Florida evacuated over bomb threats

6 Planet Fitness gyms in Florida evacuated over bomb threats



The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office responded to at least six bomb threats alleged to be part of a nationwide hoax perpetrated against Planet Fitness.

Planet Fitness, a discount gym chain, has been at the center of controversy for weeks and is now allegedly being subjected to a series of bomb threats.

At least 17 Planet Fitness locations have reported recent bomb threats, according to Action News Jax. Police in Jacksonville, Florida, have investigated several of the threats, all taking place within a small area in the city. First Coast News also reported multiple locations in Orlando, Florida, received similar threats, all of which led to evacuations.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that it had "responded to several locations in the city in reference to a reported bomb investigation which has since been determined not to be a threat. Occupants of those locations voluntarily evacuated and JSO K9s responded."

The gym chain is known for low prices, pizza and bagel giveaways, and the "lunk" alarm; which sounds an air raid siren any time a member "grunts, drops weights, or judges" another member.

However, the fitness chain had a rough March 2024 when it dropped $400 million in stock in just five days on the heels of banning Patricia Silva, who complained about a biological male shaving in the female locker room.

The Daily Mail revealed Planet Fitness allegedly has a transgender policy that the "discomfort" of sharing a change room with a member of the opposite sex is "not a reason to deny access to the transgender member."

Woman in Planet Fitness claims she went into the bathroom and this man who thinks he\u2019s a woman was in there shaving.\n\nWhy does @PlanetFitness allow men to use the women\u2019s bathroom and invade women\u2019s private spaces??
— (@)

Following the incident, Silva claimed that Planet Fitness "canceled [her] membership and allowed the pedo to stay!!" Silva did not offer evidence that the individual in question was a pedophile.

In reaction to the events, Elon Musk responded to a post about the woman and said that Planet Fitness "sounds like a creepy place."

@libsoftiktok Planet Fitness sounds like a creepy place
— (@)

The alleged Planet Fitness operations manual also stated that staff should "work with members and employees to address" the discomfort of transgender members "using the same locker room facilities" as the opposite sex.

The gym also reportedly wrote that it hoped to "foster a climate of understanding" while directing its staff to adhere to "names, titles," and "pronouns" of transgender members.

For example, the alleged document said that a "transgender woman shall be referred to by her preferred name and female pronouns," and a transgender man should be referred to by "his preferred name and male pronouns."

"Planet Fitness reserves the right to terminate a person's membership immediately for any violation of this policy," the page read, with a date of September 2014.

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Former Equinox employee fired after showing up late 47 times during 10-month stint awarded $11.25 million in racial discrimination case



A woman allegedly fired for showing up late 47 times during her brief 10-month stint managing personal trainers at an Upper East Side gym in New York is poised to become a multimillionaire.

Robynn Europe, a black 39-year-old, was awarded $10 million in punitive damages and $1.25 million for alleged distress by a New York City jury comprising five women and three men in a racial discrimination case against Equinox, reported the New York Times.

The former Oberlin College art student worked for Equinox from 2018 until 2019. Initially hired as a fitness manager, she was quickly promoted to personal training manager.

Ten months into her tenure at the club, Equinox canned the manager, citing her consistent tardiness.

Court documents indicate that the company maintains a policy on attendance and punctuality, outlined in the Equinox employee handbook Europe read upon first being hired.

The policy stated, "Routinely reporting to work late and failing to work your scheduled hours are violations of Equinox policy that can result in termination."

In one instance, on April 15, 2019, Europe received a disciplinary "Record of Discussion" after she had allegedly turned up late to work nine times over the previous 15 days. This workplace citation included a cautionary note underscoring that "the potential consequences for continued unsatisfactory performance issues included termination."

Europe did not deny that she flouted the company's policy on tardiness. Instead, she claimed her routine contravention of company policy was ultimately used as a pretext to fire her. She was convinced — or at the very least convinced the jury — that her September 2019 termination was motivated instead by racism and other forms of prejudice.

She filed a lawsuit against Equinox and three Equinox employees in 2022, claiming that she was subjected to employment discrimination on the basis of her sex, race, and disability. The lawsuit further suggested that Equinox failed to investigate Europe's complaints of racially and sexually inappropriate behavior, electing instead to use her unrepentant tardiness as a way to oust her.

Equinox counterclaimed that Europe had not shown circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination or that the non-discriminatory reason for canning her was pretextual. The company further stressed that it does not "tolerate discrimination in any form."

Following the jury's decision to award Europe well over $11 million in a timely fashion, Equinox filed a motion asking the court to reconsider the case, reported the Times.

Lawyers for the company stressed that the jurors, "guided by sympathy and emotion," had "erroneously" bought into Europe's victim narrative.

Susan Crumiller, Europe's lawyer, said in a statement, "The jury sent a loud message to Equinox that there are serious consequences for corporations that permit racist and sexist behavior in the workplace. ... Let this be a warning to all businesses in New York that if you try to brush harassment and discrimination under the rug, you will not get away with it."

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Colorado study finds no link between gyms and coronavirus outbreaks



A new study out of Colorado discovered that gym attendance has not been linked to any COVID-19 outbreaks in the state.

The news comes as lockdown restrictions implemented by state and local officials across the country have resulted in gym operators having to close their doors for weeks and months on end in order to stop the spread of the virus.

The study was commissioned by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, after it said in October that its data showed only 1,155 cases of COVID-19 resulted from more than 49 million gym check-ins, or 0.0023%, the Denver Post reported. The organization then asked the Oregon Consulting Group, based out of the University of Oregon, to conduct an independent study to confirm or refute their findings.

The results were clear

The group analyzed gym attendance data against outbreak statistics provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment over a span of 32 from March 13 through October 15.

What they found was quite remarkable: Out of the nearly 8.5 million health club check-ins, none could be linked to the 59 outbreaks reported by the CDPHE. Outbreaks are events in which two or more people report that they contracted the virus.

"Based on Colorado data as a proxy, there is no correlation between health club visits and COVID-19 cases," the study concluded, adding, "relative to other public spaces like restaurants and bars, health and fitness facilities are lower risk environments."

The group noted it is possible that safety protocols and sanitation practices implemented by gyms may be a contributing factor in the results.

What else?

Based on the data, the consulting group is recommending that state and local leaders evaluate the data before barring entrance to health clubs within their jurisdiction.

"If we look at Colorado's record of self-reported outbreak ... gyms haven't made the list up to this point, but bars and restaurants certainly have," said OCG President Callum Kuo.

"We need to be reasonable and critical when it comes to evaluating relative risk. And based on what we see in Colorado, gyms do not belong in the same risk category as bars and restaurants," he explained. "We believe states need to examine their data more closely before hastily closing down gyms and instead making decisions based on what they are seeing in their respective states."

To the CDPHE's credit the most recent mandated closures exempted health and fitness centers.

"We have been talking to stakeholders, and we do not feel this is one of the higher risk settings because people are wearing masks at the gym. Gyms are ensuring social distancing and also cleaning their equipment. So we are comfortable allowing it," said the department's executive director Jill Ryan.