Virgin Active has banned a member of the gym after a racist incident at its Sunninghill branch, a report has said.
|||Virgin Active has banned a member of the gym after a racist incident at its Sunninghill branch, a report has said.
Lesley Mofokeng laid a criminal charge after he was insulted at the gym in Johannesburg.
A fellow gym member called him a “boy” and accused him of “hogging the equipment”.
Mofokeng said: “The guy came and started shouting and said, 'You black guys take everything. We know this is your f***ing country, but you do not have to control everything.’ ”
According to Eyewitness News, Mofokeng received a letter saying the man who hurled abuse at him had his membership cancelled.
He would also be banned from all clubs.
Justice was served, Mofokeng told EWN.
“I am relieved that the message has been sent to people who come to gym with the intention of hurting others,” he was quoted as saying.
He said he hoped other cases would be receiving similar attention.
This incident became public after The Star newspaper reported that a member of Virgin Active Morningside, in Sandton, was racially insulted by another member during a spinning class.
Liz Hleza said the man appeared enraged because she shouted “yebo” in her enthusiasm for the music and the exercise.
“I was so scared and thought he was going to hit me, he was very angry. He said I should keep quiet and kept saying this bloody k****, you k****,” Hleza told The Star.
She said at the time she was dissatisfied with the gym's handling of the matter.
Last week, managing director Ross Faragher-Thomas issued a statement saying that Virgin Active was looking into the two complaints.
“We always take appropriate action in the event of any member misconduct.”
He said members had been suspended in the past for inappropriate conduct, and that the company had a zero tolerance approach to discrimination by its members.
Founder and chief executive of the Virgin group Richard Branson also commented on the issue on Virgin Active SA's Facebook page.
“We do not condone any form of discrimination at Virgin - especially racism,” he said.
He said Virgin was taking the complaints “extremely seriously”.
“ (We) intend to look at all the facts to reach the right outcome for all parties concerned,” Branson wrote. - IOL