Here in California, politics can get pretty cutthroat and nasty, and this can even affect our local gyms. Up in San Francisco, this happened recently with some franchises of Gold's Gym. Recently the head of Gold's Gym, Robert Rowling, donated $2 million to American Crossroads, a bi-partisan group that funds a lot of mostly pro GOP and anti-Democrat advertising, apparently. They also apparently back a lot of candidates who are anti-homosexual in their views.
This rubbed several local franchises of Gold's Gyms the wrong way, and they have decided to separate themselves from the company entirely. Saying that many of the gyms have members and employees from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, head of Gold's Gym in the Bay Area, Don Dickerson, called the donation from Gold's CEO "unfortunate". It's unsure how the separation will affect the day-to-day operation of the gyms.