02/18/2008
California Gym Boots Gay Man Over T-Shirt
David Cano wore a t-shirt to his gym, California Family Fitness, that said "I need a man or a date, serious inquiries only," and the gym canceled his membership, saying several guests had come forward complaining about his choice of clothing.
Apparently the t-shirt wasn't "family" enough for them.
Said Cano: "I just thought something up, and said maybe I would wear it. It was kind of like a gag thing. They're responsible for kicking me out because of my shirt and discrimination. It's basically because I'm open [about my sexual orientation]."
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 5:08 PM EST by Andy in California, Discrimination, Fashion Men, News | Permalink
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Dammit! I can't make out the phone number...
Posted by: Michael W. | Feb 18, 2008 5:23:08 PM
This is awful...
However, when life gives you lemons...
sell the shirt to the millions of people who for whatever small print there is to their contracts and all the run around from customer service...cannot get out of their gym memberships! And, give the money to charity!
Now, what can we do about lycra shorts and those who stll choose to wear them?
Posted by: Joe-in-Atlanta | Feb 18, 2008 5:25:44 PM
Is he going to sue them? I'd sue their shirts off... and then we'd all be even.
Posted by: oakling | Feb 18, 2008 5:48:03 PM
Give me a break. There's injustice and there's getting your gym membership revoked because you didn't want to take off a seriously tacky t-shirt. And I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that they are one and the same. As a gay guy, I go to the gym to work out, not tell the world I'm a whore on Craigslist. That shirt would make me queasy if I saw it at the gym. Mainly because I despise attention-whores. Just run on the treadmill dude. Maybe lose a few and you wouldn't have to advertise like a desperate troll.
Something I would like to know - did they ask him to remove the shirt (a perfectly reasonable request being that it's just gross to have your phone number on a t-shirt that advertises your lonliness) and he refused or did they just outright revoke his membership? I think it's an important distinction. If they just yanked his membership then he might have a case, if not legally then at least maybe public perception-wise. But dude - for the love of all that's holy, class it up. You were basically telling everyone that you'd be staring at their junk in the showers and most men would find that a bit distracting at the gym. This is just embarressing.
Posted by: Joe | Feb 18, 2008 5:58:14 PM
A cut-off tee?! Puh-lease.
Posted by: FernLaPlante | Feb 18, 2008 6:06:09 PM
No sympathy from me, dude. You had it coming. A gym is a place to work out, not pick up dates/tricks. Step out of the gym if you want to do all that, and take your horny mind and questionable fashion with you.
Posted by: Jimmy | Feb 18, 2008 6:33:21 PM
The shirt is not offensive at all. Actually, when I'm at the gym I usually don't even notice what people's shirts say. I'm too busy working out. It doesn't use offensive language or anything, so he definitely will win a legal case. If someone wore a shirt that said "Black History Month" and people complained because they don't believe in that lifestyle, the club would never dare ban them.
Plus, at least the guy has it on a shirt instead of hitting on everyone. You know how many times straight guys hit on women at the gym? Those are the real pigs who need to be kicked out. It's going to be great when this guy wins a big settlement.
Posted by: Jacob | Feb 18, 2008 6:35:26 PM
What gym is it?
Posted by: Tyler | Feb 18, 2008 6:43:36 PM
Y'know, I've been far more troubled by the incontinent bitch on the treadmill in front of me when I'm downwind of the turbo blaster air ducts than I would EVER be of some skank troll wearing a come-and-get-it shirt. It's the MARRIED "my fat wife doesn't suck dick and won't put out any more" ones at the gym you oughta be concerned abou...
OH, NOW I GET IT!
Them bitches was just mad that nasty lookin' hobag was fishin' in their pond. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Posted by: FizziekruntNT | Feb 18, 2008 6:52:58 PM
I wouldn't wear a shirt in public with my phone number. A gag with friends, then wear it to a party? Sure. There is this slight "thing" there that doesn't ring right with me. Did they discuss it with him before cancelling his membership? He said it was a "gag". For what? It sounds like he wore it more than once to the gym. Was he looking for a reaction more than date?
Posted by: David | Feb 18, 2008 6:55:25 PM
Gym Info:
8569 Bond Rd. Elk Grove, CA 95624
Ph.(916) 685-5555
I called and personally spoke with Brandon. They are of course trying to refer folks to corporate. He says there is more to the story than being told, and ultimately the guy lost his membership because he threatended the gym in some manner.
If true, the threatning piece probably only happened after he was told he couldn't wear the shirt.
Other should feel free to call if they want more info... =)
Posted by: mike | Feb 18, 2008 6:59:06 PM
As a former resident of Elk Grove I can tell you it's VERY conservative. It was a little white suburb of Sacramento forever. It's now become a midsize city and doesn't know how to handle diversity. If the shirt said "I need a woman" and his number, he would have been slapped on the back. But as a gay black man in Elk Grove he was "lynched" in the only way then can now. Shame on you California Family Fitness. I guess it's ok for single females to walk around with "Juicy" on their ass.
Posted by: john | Feb 18, 2008 7:00:36 PM
This guy showed bad judgment and now he is crying victim. If he really wants to wear the idiotic shirt - I am sure he can find at least -one- gym in all of california that wouldn't care.
Posted by: yoshi | Feb 18, 2008 7:13:19 PM
So that's all it takes to cancel a membership? I've been trying to cancel my Ballys for months. Thanks for the heads up.
Posted by: CJ | Feb 18, 2008 7:50:29 PM
Does anyone remember going to Manhattan Plaza in the early 90's? There was a guy who used to wear the most explicit t-shirts to work out in. Most of them had actual cocks on them and even one of a guy sucking one. It was hysterical and he got away with it for a long time until someone finally asked if he could leave the really graphic ones at home. He also used to play techno music on his walkman and punch the air walking on the treadmill. He was a really fun guy, sexy and a great dancer (would run into him at clubs occasionally). I miss my gay gyms.
If this guy from the post were straight and had done something similar, no one would have done anything other than chuckle. Homophobia is so rampant in this culture. I say until every straight person stops talking about their wife, their gf, their bf, their husband, their kids, their anniversary, their baby shower, their bridal shower, their wedding shower, their rings, they can all shove it up their ass. The only blatant part of our culture is heterosexuality.
Posted by: Raze | Feb 18, 2008 7:56:28 PM
How is this any different from the girls in spaghetti strap little tight shirts that say 'slut' or 'easy' on them. how ubiquitous are they? this guy puts out that hes available and he gets in trouble? i hope he sues the pants off of them!
Posted by: Adam Vanderlip | Feb 18, 2008 8:00:15 PM
While it's of questionable taste, would the gym have removed a man for wearing a t-shirt that said he needed a female? I suspect not. The double standard prevails in California, apparently.
Posted by: jon | Feb 18, 2008 8:00:52 PM
This is how straights try to keep the male-male interaction out of the mainstream. Anything with a male-male suggestion is removed or forcibly segregated into the "gay scene". We have to be very aware of this because it's a form of cultural apartheid. My message to straights is this: I'll kiss my boyfriend any damn place I please, including main street.
Posted by: tom | Feb 18, 2008 8:04:20 PM
I like how the ad before the NEWS package (follow the link) is for the Gun Room...
I can't believe how many comments blame the victim - OMG! It's illegal in CA, even in Elk Grove, I hope he contacts an attorney.
I SPOKE TO THE REPORTER (screw the club) at CBS13 and she told me that the health club people were extremely agitated and claiming this guy was causing problems - - HOWEVER, she couldn't find any member of the club to corroborate their story, in fact, the opposite.
She did find several members who said this guy David was very calm until four employees surrounded him and escorted him to the front desk and later out the front door.
She also told me three male members of the club called this guy David a fag while she was setting up the interview.
You people that condemned the gay guy are discrete homosexuals that need to do some work on your internalized homophone issues...
David B.
Posted by: David B. | Feb 18, 2008 8:30:49 PM
it's a typical . "douchbag shirt" no matter who wears it..not appropriate for gyms. A straight guy once wore a "stop rape do me" shirt at my gym and he was told to not wear it too...
Posted by: alan brickman | Feb 18, 2008 8:57:35 PM
I don't agree with the gym's decision to revoke this guy's membership, but at the same time, he was obviously looking for this kind of reaction. He printed the t-shirt himself and wore it to an obviously conservative gym? How many people here make their own workout clothes? Unless he is a complete idiot, he knew his shirt was going to stir things up, and he got exactly what he wanted. A "victim" this guy is not.
Posted by: James | Feb 18, 2008 9:15:50 PM
god this is hilarious, what happened to everybody's sense of humor? i wonder tho, who complained? men? women? last time i heard, the gym was a perfect place to pick up a trick.... it worked for the ancient greeks, who were so democratic you know...
Posted by: the queen | Feb 18, 2008 9:33:40 PM
There's more to this story than what we're being told. The foreign guy sounds like a jerk looking for attention.
Posted by: PacificHeights | Feb 18, 2008 10:11:47 PM
I completely agree with Joe and Jimmy and James.
As homosexuals, we are obliged to completely censor ourselves, effectively neutering ourselves, when in public. We must act in every way to be invisible and not disturb the illusion of the total dominance of heterosexuality.
How dare this man wear a gag t-shirt that suggests that he is not straight? How dare he offend the straight men at the gym and make them feel uneasy? Doesn't he know that it is the role of the gay man to feel uneasy? Doesn't he understand that by making the straight men worry that someone might look "at their junk" that he is upsetting the natural order of the universe?
If we let fags wear gag t-shirts to the gym, what's next? Fags marrying each other? What IS the world coming to?
Posted by: Chris | Feb 18, 2008 11:59:32 PM
What we need to be aware of is that the sexual liberation movement of the 1960's was never really about accepting gay and bisexual men into the mainstream of society. It was about accepting certain lesbians and bisexual women into the mainstream, and not gay and bisexual men. Women have exploited this double standard by wearing increasingly lurid clothes in gyms, cocktail parties etc etc. Men, on the other hand, must answer to nervous straights if they dare wear anything lurid or suggestive.
Face it, guys. There is a sleazy straight guy/bisexual female enabler paradigm out there that is working against the interests of gay and bisexual men. Blame liberals, blame the Playboy philosophy, blame the porn industry, blame the sexual liberation movement. These are the liberal institutions that you ought to be blaming.
Posted by: jason | Feb 19, 2008 12:19:27 AM
They're a private entity, so they can impose a dress code.
However, if they apply that dress code in a blantently anti-gay manner, that might create some legal problems for them under the Unruh Act. Businesses must not engage in "arbitrary and intentional discrimination on the bases of personal characteristics."
Posted by: John | Feb 19, 2008 12:29:48 AM
Laughable bullshit - Chris, you are suffering from a
severe case of not fucking getting it. As are all of you "how dare you blame the vixtrm for challenging the predominant heterosexist paradigm!" hysterics. I read these comments in awe - how on earth does
some dimwit attention whore in a stupid-ass t-shirt have to do with asserting our right to be open about our sexuality? Listen, had this dude been wearing a t-shirt that said "California Gay Rodeo" and
gotten grief, I'd have been right behind him wearing he same
shirt or if he had his membership revoked because he was chatting up dude's, your many arguments of being a bold queer in a straight-made world would certainly resonate. But COME ON! A Tshirt saying you're looking for a man WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER ON IT? For the record, James B -I'm an out and proud gay man, believe it. No internalized issues here - I just learn to fight the battles that count.
Posted by: Joey | Feb 19, 2008 12:39:21 AM
My gym is pretty damn liberal and no one wears shirts like that. There is a singles scene, gay and straight, but its not a meat market. And I think if you wore something like that there, someone might say something, regardless of orientation. But they wouldn't revoke your membership. In a family gym, that doesn't surprise me. Kind of a bad choice, Meathead, but thats just my opinion. I would never do something like that, but I would be pissed if I just got the boot. If you were talked to, I hope you took it off. But there's a bigot majority out there, tread lightly or pay the price with those kind of assholes!
Posted by: ZWbush | Feb 19, 2008 12:51:22 AM
He's too old to be wearing a t-shirt with writing on it - stick to solids.
Posted by: joseph Schmitt | Feb 19, 2008 1:00:21 AM
So it's okay to let everyone know that you're gay and even to hit on guys at the gym is okay, but it's the tackiness that's the problem with the t-shirt.
Okay, got it. No tacky t-shirts if you're gay. The new rule. Thanks for clearing that up.
What's interesting in this little commentary board debate - some people seem to think the guy was serious, like he seriously thought this was a way to get a date.
Posted by: Chris | Feb 19, 2008 1:15:15 AM
Well, I hate even corporate advertisements on shirts like Nike labels.
So confused.
On the one hand my sense of equality is stirred to cry out for justie on his behalf.
On the other hand, hell.......I want to paint over labels , sayings, pic, corporate brands, etc on anyone and everyone's clothing.
When did humans become walking bill boards?
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Feb 19, 2008 1:54:40 AM
How can you be sure this guy did NOT wear that shirt on purpose to see if he would
be expelled and SUE?
I mean, we all know WHEN and WHERE it is
sort of 'safe' or 'ok' to wear clothing...
We are not in the 70's, and now it is
sometimes unnecesary to show 'rebellion'
anymore. Not in California, anyway.
I suspect David Cano wanted money, and
he is going to get it.
Posted by: Anna | Feb 19, 2008 3:22:18 AM
fuck all of you who think the t-shirt was tasteless. THAT IS NOT THE POINT!!!!!!! if a straight man had worn a shirt that said, "i want a woman or a date", would he have been expelled? i doubt it. it is not for us to second guess mr. cano's motives. and, shame on all you queers for doing so.
Posted by: nic | Feb 19, 2008 4:19:55 AM
fuck all of you who think the t-shirt was tasteless. THAT IS NOT THE POINT!!!!!!! if a straight man had worn a shirt that said, "i want a woman or a date", would he have been expelled? i doubt it. it is not for us to second guess mr. cano's motives. and, shame on all you queers for doing so.
Posted by: nic | Feb 19, 2008 4:25:56 AM
Americans are so prudish.
Posted by: luke | Feb 19, 2008 5:35:47 AM
A lot of you guys seem to be missing a simple little scrap of paper residing in Washington DC called the constitution. It guarantees freedom of speech....which this where the said shirt would fall under. Plain and simple. You cannot pick and choose which phrases you will and will not allow in your establishment. If you tried playing the "obscenity card", like people might do if the guy was wearing a shirt with the 'F' word on it, this shirt could not be classied as 'obscene' in any sense of the word.
Private club that can enforce it's own dress code? PERHAPS you could get away with it IF it was clearly spelled out in your contract. You cannot make the rules up when you see one that you don't like or agree with.
My guess is this guy will get a nice chunk of "out of court" settlement that will enable him to buy his own dates.
Posted by: Lubridan | Feb 19, 2008 7:13:05 AM
What fvcking planet are some of you fags from (ahem, Joe, Jimmy, and Alan B)? The gym is no place to pick up guys? Yeah, if you are in Topeka. You sound like a bunch of self-hating fags who need to STFU!!
Posted by: Shane | Feb 19, 2008 7:29:15 AM
The tacky thing to me is the fact any thinking person would join a gym named 'California Family Fitness'. That crap has fueled the homophobic GOP right wing for years, no need to feed them your money as well. Real Family Values' is loving yourself, your brother and sisters, and caring more about the world than the $.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Feb 19, 2008 7:41:28 AM
I feel this is just an extension of the social "code" which says I ought not to discuss, make reference to, or otherwise acknowledge my "orientation" if it's outside the "accepted norm". In other words, I should refrain from having conversations on the train about gayness (or any other subject people might be upset by). Does this mean that I can't wear a T-shirt protesting the war in Iraq at my gym? Don't laugh--people have been ejected from shopping malls for antiwar clothing--and I think this guy has a case. Whether his shirt was in poor taste or not, the gym's management went way overboard here.
I have yet (i'm in NYC, admittedly) to go to my gym and NOT see guys trying to pick up other guys. Trust me, this goes on all the time. So this guy, if guilty of anything, is guilty of choosing too conservative a gym in which to advertise himself, that's all. It's a T-shirt--come on now! They could have given or sold (!) him a different shirt if they didn't like theone he was wearing.
People are occasionally getting kicked off planes for their clothing these days, too. I think we've lost our f***king minds!
Posted by: Nathan James | Feb 19, 2008 8:26:28 AM
Shane baby, thanks for adding absolutely nothing to this conversation. Whether he was serious or not is moot. Whether he was straight and had on a tshirt that said I'm so lonely, here's my digits - let the harrassment begin is moot. Whether the gym is or isn't a place to pick up people is moot. I think his actions only reinforced their bigotries and uncomfortableness with homosexuality and, in their minds, actually reinforced the thought process of why any expression of homosexuality is the right "family" thing to do. There are lots of ways to fight this battle, fellas. There are lots of fights to get behind and support. This is not one of them, IMHO. Also: accusing someone you disagree with as being a "self-hating fag who needs to STFU" is not an argument. Truth.
Posted by: Joey | Feb 19, 2008 9:58:48 AM
I have a T-shirt that was distributed as a promotion for the "Stepford Wives" remake a few years ago. It reads "It's easy to turn me on" across the front. I like the way it fits, so I've often worn it to both mixed and primarily-gay gyms. It never occurred to me until reading these comments that I might be offending some people.
Posted by: PeterH | Feb 19, 2008 10:37:20 AM
PETERH,
one of my favorite tees reads, "i can't even think straight." were i to be thrown out of an establishment for that, in JOEY's little brain, i should go away and find a bigger battle.
btw, why would anyone take seriously anything that a grown man who calls himself Joey says?
Posted by: nic | Feb 19, 2008 11:21:22 AM
Yes Shane - Joey is a little boys name. When you can't think of a good counter-argument, then insult people like a petulanet child. Always works. A t-shirt that says "I Can't Even Think Straight" is different than one saying you need a man with your phone number on it. God, I hope you can see that. And BTW, if you wore it to a predominantly family gym it would make you look just a douchified as Mr. Cano. I'm not saying the dude deserved being kicked out, I'm merely saying if you want to assert you bold gay self in a predominantly straight environment - fucking go for it. But have a wee bit of self-respect. That would go a long way in gathering support - gay and straight - behind your cause. AND I"M DONE.
Posted by: Joey | Feb 19, 2008 11:46:56 AM
Shane???? Shane who? You really are muddle-headed, joey.
Posted by: nic | Feb 19, 2008 11:59:54 AM
Yes, Nic. I am muddle-headed. And that breeze you just felt? That's the entire point of my post literally flying over your head.
Posted by: Joey | Feb 19, 2008 12:06:45 PM
How did people at the gym know it was his real phone number?
My first thought would be it was a promotion for, I dunno, a moving company or something. Or maybe it was a shirt FOR a women's social group that printed some extras for the boys.
Maybe it was more obvious in the tv report. Okay, nope.
So until someone asked him and he confirmed, it was just a number on a shirt. Maybe it was his girlfriend's shirt and he grabbed it by mistake -- or on purpose.
I don't get the whole "blame the victim" thing going on here.
The guy wore a funny shirt. Kids old enough to work out wouldn't care. Good for him for trying to have some fun at no one's expense.
My bigger worry was that now all sorts of gym-going weirdoes have my phone number.
Posted by: tjc | Feb 19, 2008 12:18:46 PM
A gym is a private business. Therefore, as long as it does not run afoul of anti-discrimination laws, it can impose a strict dress code on its membership. It can tell its members it cannot wear tank tops, short shorts, or even the color blue if it wants. As long as it does not discriminate on one of the protected bases. The Constitution does not apply to private businesses.
Posted by: Javier | Feb 19, 2008 12:39:49 PM
ooh. ouch. you're too clever for me, joey. while you were typing that "zinger" did you make a whooshing sound while passing your hand above your head? how original.
Posted by: nic | Feb 19, 2008 1:06:46 PM
OMG, I did!
Posted by: Joey | Feb 19, 2008 3:01:14 PM
It's time for us to stand up to corporate endorsed bigotry against any of our GLBT brothers and sisters. Even in Elk Grove!
I agree the gym has a right to enforce any policy they so wish. That said, we also have the right and obligation to ensure that California Family Fitness is exposed as an organization that is engaged in creating and enforcing anti-gay policies. The financial damage to California Family Fitness that a boycott by the Gay Community would be the most powerful statement that it is simply NOT acceptable for any business to treat members of the Gay Community with hatred and/or intolerance.
Posted by: Chad | Feb 19, 2008 5:07:38 PM
I totally agree with the guys who support freedom of speech (the same freedom of
speech that the USA gives to the Westboro Baptist Church, by the way)...
...BUT somehow, I think David Cano WAS DOING THAT ON PURPOSE: He WANTED to be
expelled and then SUE.
MANY people are TRYING to DO that sort of
thing everywhere: to shock a little and then
get a reaction, to SUE and get plenty of
CA$H....
Posted by: Anna | Feb 20, 2008 3:37:33 AM