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A College of Charleston student was kicked out of the campus recreational center last week for wearing a crop top during her workout, The Post and Courier reported.
Sarah Villafañe wrote in a Facebook post last Wednesday that she was repeatedly asked to “put on a shirt” at the gym but given no further explanation. She was wearing a cropped tank top, which extends slightly farther down the midriff than a sports bra.
“I’ve worn this same outfit all day. Went to three classes and spoke personally with each of my professors today and they didn’t have a problem,” Villafañe wrote in a Facebook post that has been liked more than a thousand times and shared and commented on by hundreds of users.
“But when I walked into the gym, they asked me to put on a different shirt,” she wrote. “Obviously I didn’t bring an extra shirt to the gym and wasn’t about to wear my flannel while working out.”
By Villafañe’s description, three separate employees, including the “boss,” came up to her and asked her to find a different shirt or to leave the gym.
“What is the issue? Why can’t I work out in this outfit? Is my belly button distracting to the general 85 percent male demographic that your gym serves?” she wrote. “I’m forced to leave, why? Honestly I’m so floored that I just got kicked out for this. Do better, College of Charleston.”
The George Street Fitness Center requires patrons wear “athletic attire” but does not specifically note the rules surrounding bare midriffs. A university spokesperson said the gym asks its attendees to wear T-shirts to reduce skin contact with exercise equipment for “sanitary reasons.”
