Gym issues apology to Sikh man after ordering him to leave because of kirpan knife he carries

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A Canadian Sikh man has received an apology from a gym chain after he was kicked out from one of its locations for wearing a ceremonial kirpan knife. 

Gurpartap Singh Sangha recorded himself being ordered to leave a GoodLife Fitness gym in Windsor, which is just across the Detroit River along the US-Canada border. 

He posted the video to his 21,000 followers on TikTok, where it has been sparking controversy and going viral, receiving 2.2 million views as of Wednesday morning. 

'Racially singled out by a good life employee,' a caption edited onto the video said. 'You’re kicking me out of the gym right now because you are scared that I’m going to take my religious symbol… and kill somebody?' Sangha said in the video. 

The employee he was talking to replied: 'What I'm saying is you have a weapon on your person. A member has brought it to my attention, and for the safety of me and everybody else in the gym, I'm asking you to leave.' 

Sangha said he did not understand, and the employee further stated that the gym is private and staff are allowed to deny people access. 

A kirpan is a ceremonial dagger that baptized Sikhs must wear at all times, as mandated by their faith. 

A 2006 Supreme Court of Canada ruling determined that the religious symbols are protected and must be accommodated in public settings, including schools, courthouses and legislatures, as long as they remain sheathed and are not longer than 23 centimeters (nine inches) in total length. 

I WAS TARGETED THIS GIRL SAID SHE IS SCARED BECAUSE I AM CARRYING A KNIFE (KIRPAN) ASKED ME TO LEAVE BUT SHE LET ME IN KNOWING I HAD IT ON…THIS IS GOOD LIFE WINDSOR DOUGLAS @GoodLife Fitness UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR #tiktok #fyp #motivation #waheguru #viral

TikTok • Gurpartap Singh Khalsa

'The interaction shown in the video reflects a situation where our established practices were not applied as intended. We have reached out directly to the individual involved to address this matter,' Matthews said. 

'We comply with all applicable government legislation, including Canadian human rights laws.'

A separate statement Matthews shared with the Daily Mail stated that the employee Sangha was speaking to in his video was not fired, despite online rumors to the contrary.

'No one has been, nor will be, terminated as a result of the interaction in our Windsor club,' she said. 

'GoodLife Fitness provides a welcoming and safe community, and we will continue to strive to maintain that environment for everyone who comes to our clubs.'

Sangha told CTV News that he also received a personal emailed apology from GoodLife Fitness, which he said he accepted. 

Though he added: 'GoodLife should also be educating their workers on different faiths. So that’s what I strongly advise.' 

BOYCOTT GOODLIFE FITNESS! They have cowardly bent the knee to a single individual who brought a 9inch HUNTING KNIFE to a gym. This is NO Kirpan. This is unacceptable and it’s a slap to the face to the members of the gym and to those of the Sikh community who 99% are contributing and common sense members of our society, who properly carry their small ceremonial Kirpans with them in a way that respects the well being and safety of all members of their community.

TikTok • Sonduren Fanarredha

Although GoodLife apologized to Sangha both publicly and in private, some people do not believe that the gym was wrong to have kicked him out initially. 

A member of the gym named Samar Houad told CTV News: 'I’m not sure if that’s a safe environment. Not that the person was going to do anything, but I just felt like maybe that’s not really the safe place to bring something like that.'

Her son, Noah, told the outlet: 'If I were to see that, I would have been a bit alarmed.'

Users online expressed their discontent as well. The majority of the comments on Sangha's video sided with the employee he was arguing with. 

Sonduren Fanarredha, who has hundreds of thousands of followers across social media sites, posted a TikTok saying he canceled his GoodLife Fitness membership, and he called on others to do the same.

He alleged that the knife Sangha was carrying was not truly a kirpan. 'I just can't accept the fact that you have allowed and bent the knee over to someone who literally brought in a large hunting knife,' Fanarredha said. 

'Nine inches. This is not a kirpan. This is a hunting knife,' he continued. 'You need to put safety regulations in place for the safety of all of your members. There should be no reason a knife this large comes into the gym and people feel unsafe.'

Fanarredha added that '99 percent' of Sikhs carry small kirpans that they tuck into their clothing, which would be fine to accommodate, but the gym has set a dangerous precedent by allowing someone to carry a nine-inch weapon.