Planet Fitness has received a lot of flak recently. First, it was criticized for asking a woman to cover up because her "toned" body was making other members uncomfortable, and now the gym is receiving criticism for not allowing a Muslim woman wear her religious head covering.
An attorney for Tarainia McDaniel recently filed a lawsuit in a New Mexico district court after a 2011 clash at Planet Fitness, according to USA Today. The gym reportedly prevented McDaniel from working out while wearing her religious head covering.
Planet Fitness reportedly has a sign that says "no jeans, work boots, bandanas, skull caps or revealing apparel," according to USA Today. Yet McDaniel stated that she was allowed to work out in a different Planet Fitness with the head covering previously.
That's not all, either. McCall Gosselin, director of public relations at Planet Fitness, released a statement that said "At Planet Fitness, our policy is, and has always been, that members are allowed to wear head scarves for religious reasons in clubs."
Despite the gym's policy, though, McDaniel was reportedly turned away, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Gym employees told her that while the dress code in the gym was sometimes waived, it couldn't be in her case because her head covering was red.
This new issue comes just after Planet Fitness informed another woman she had to cover up because her toned body was making other members uncomfortable. Although Planet Fitness has a commitment to "No Gymtimidation," it seems as if some members are feeling the effects of policies that don't always make sense when it comes to the situation.
