Political Donation Irks Bay Area Gold's Gyms

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With midterm elections less than a week away and money being pumped directly into campaigns or to the indirect benefit of candidates at an unprecedented pace, a rift has developed at the unlikely nexus of politics and the for-profit health club industry. Four Gold's Gym franchises have distanced themselves from the brand in the wake of a $2 million political donation made by the CEO of Gold's ownership group, TRT Holdings.

The franchises, all located in the San Francisco Bay Area, claim that Robert Rowling's donation to a political group that supports candidates seen as adversarial to gay rights compromises the clubs' standing among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members. "Gold's Gym San Francisco has long been a pillar of the gay community. We will continue to be," read a statement to customers from the club's director of operations Don Dickerson. "It is very unfortunate that the CEO of TRT Holdings has chosen this course of action. We do not support it in any way." Dickerson's club, a Gold's Gym for more than 20 years, will allow its franchise agreement to expire Sept. 15, 2012, if it can't legally sever ties sooner. In the meantime, it has pledged donations to LGBT charities (above those it typically makes) in amounts that match the franchising fees it must continue to pay Gold's.

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