ATLANTA – Jim Chambers, owner of EAV Barbell Club in Atlanta, recently took down his sign banning police officers from his gym, but he stands by the policy, WXIA TV reports.
"We've had an explicitly stated 'No Cop' policy since we opened," Chambers told WXIA. "And we also don't open membership to active members of the military."
Chambers' bio on the gym's website says: "Outside the gym, Jim lives in a psychedelic trance, fights cops and writes things."
On the "about us" portion of the website the gym claims: "We are a radically aligned, left-friendly gym and community.
"We require no one to agree with any set of politics, but if you are hostile to the fringe, you ought to look elsewhere.
"Meatheads welcome, too, so long as tolerance abounds."
WXIA says Chambers is a lifelong political activist and that he says groups who work out there are generally minorities who are uncomfortable with the presence of law enforcement agents.
The Atlanta Police Department told WXIA, "Were we to respond to an emergency there, this sign would not stop us from lawfully doing our job."
Chambers said they never have, and won't ever need the help of officers.