Fitness First denies swastika gym mat arrangement and WhatsApp messages were antisemitic

Fitness First has denied that messages including a photograph of gym mats arranged in a swastika were motivated by antisemitism. David Amroon, a Jewish member of the sports chain told Campaign Against Antisemitism of his shock upon being sent a picture of his local gym’s training mats arranged into a swastika, together with jokes about Nazis from members via their WhatsApp group.

Mr Amroon, a martial arts instructor who trained in Jiu-Jitsu twice weekly at Fitness First’s branch in Ilford, told Campaign Against Antisemitism that he will not use the gym again.

According to Mr Amroon, it was common knowledge amongst members that he is Jewish. He told us that he had previously had to challenge antisemitic comments from other members at the health club including alleged statements about Jews ruling the world, “Zionists” being responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, all Jews being wealthy, and even being told by an instructor that “Jews killed Jesus”. However, Mr Amroon told us that he did not report these incidents to the club’s management, preferring to deal with them himself, but he felt that he could not stay silent after the latest incident, which occurred after he missed a training session through illness.

Upon receiving the WhatsApp messages, Mr Amroon said that he immediately sent a message of complaint to the group’s instructor, who apologised and said he had spoken with the perpetrators and that they had just been joking, before allegedly advising Mr Amroon to “move on”. Mr Amroon says that he then wrote a letter to the instructor in which he requested a meeting with the individuals involved in the incident to explain that it was not a joke, and the impact it had on him, only to be told that he should have a quiet word with the perpetrators himself. When he did so, he says that he was again informed that he “needed to get over it”.

Mr Amroon waited a further nine days for a satisfactory resolution, after which he wrote to Fitness First. A meeting was organised with the club’s manager, the Fitness Manager and the Area Manager. Despite being told that they oppose racism, Mr Amroon said that there was a complete failure to engage with the issue and that his request for disciplinary action against those involved was dismissed. When Mr Amroon threatened to go to the police, he alleges that the gym chain’s staff again told him to move on and told him that speaking to the police was not the right thing to do.

Mr Amroon, whose grandfather served in the RAF and lost his life fighting Nazi Germany, says he was shocked by the incident and that he was made to feel as though he had no voice and that he was invisible to the staff he met. He has now cancelled his membership, having been a loyal customer for sixteen years.

When we asked Fitness First to comment on Mr Amroon’s allegations, a spokesman emphasised the organisation’s pride in being a multicultural company and stated that it does not tolerate any form of discrimination. He said that the swastika created with the mats was intended to be a “Buddhist peace symbol”, not a Nazi swastika: “Fitness First took these allegations extremely seriously as soon as they were relayed and launched an immediate inquiry. Fitness First met with Mr Amroon and spoke to him several times. The class regularly made different shapes and symbols with the mats at the beginning of each class. The room was regularly hired by a third party to conduct a Jiu-Jitsu class and it was not connected with Fitness First. The class is no longer held at Fitness First. As it was a private hire, we advised that if Mr Amroon wanted to take the matter to the authorities, we would assist them in any way we could, including providing the CCTV footage of the mats being laid out. The police did look into the matter after they were contacted by Fitness First but dismissed Mr Amroon’s claims. We have been assured that the remarks on the WhatsApp group, specifically ‘Nazi salutes are great opportunities for hip toss’ refer to grabbing a Nazi’s arm as they salute and throwing them to the ground. The people you have highlighted in the Whatsapp group conversation were never members of Fitness First.”

Fitness First is owned by Dave Whelan, the owner of Wigan Athletic Football Club who was fined £50,000 by the Football Association and banned from football for six weeks for declaring that “Jewish people chase money more than everybody else”.

This is a very regrettable incident in which a Jewish man has felt hounded out of his local gym community. Nobody can be sure of the motives of those involved apart from those who did this.

Anybody experiencing antisemitism is encouraged to contact us at [email protected] or on 0330 822 0321 as soon as possible after the incident if they would like advice.