Two lesbian trainers who were fired from NYC's David Barton Gym are suing the gym for "lost wages, lost benefits, other economic damages, shame, humiliation, embarrassment and mental distress" following their dismissal, the New York Daily News reports:
Deborah Cooke and Christina Rodino charge in a Manhattan federal suit that their beefcake bosses at David Barton Gyms made them the butt of gay jokes and called each of them a 'f—ing dyke.' One horndog head trainer hounded them for sex, the suit says. He later asked Cooke – a trainer pulling down $100,000 a year – if she 'was going to strap on a penis tonight.'
Cooke also claims that a general manager saved her contact info in his cell phone under the name 'Dyke Cooke' and suggested that she and Rodino, a Pilates coordinator, vacation on Lesbos Island. The suit says the women were fired Dec. 2 by the high-end health club after complaining about the raunchy locker talk. The gym said it terminated the women because they were working with outside clients, but Cooke and Rodino argue that straight employees who similarly trained non-members weren't disciplined.
The gym has vowed to fight the claims and its attorney refused comment. The women seek unspecified damages.
(image a david barton gym flyer)