During a recent sponsored appearance at Cowboy Iron Gym in Gallup, New Mexico, fitness influencer Larry Wheels took the opportunity to disparage the community that welcomed him in a YouTube livestream.
Gallup is the home to a large population of Diné, often identified by the government term assigned to their tribal nation, Navajo.
Cowboy Iron Gym, which identified itself as Iindigenous-owned, had publicized the event in recognition of their 3rd anniversary. They hosted a meet-and-greet with New York-born, Caribbean-raised Wheels, Diné bullrider Cody Jesus, and professional bodybuilder Roelly Winklaar, who is also from the Caribbean.
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During his livestream, Wheels—who has millions of followers online—commented:
"How many people in this city are kidnappers that are thinking about kidnapping us right now?”
“What do female Navajos do? Do they work? I don’t think any of them work. They get free food, benefits, money.”
“I just believe they get countless benefits from the state, depending on how much they have in their bloodline."
You can see a clip of the exchange here:
People were outraged by Wheels' ignorance, with one woman sharing audio of Wheels making his offensive comments while showing how hard she works.
Others commented about the stereotype of Indigenous people getting free stuff...
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...and others speculating on what prompted Wheels' ignorance.
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Local station KOB4 covered the fallout after Wheels' comments were exposed.
Speaking to KOB4, the Coalition to End Violence Against Native Women said:
"Language shapes attitudes and attitudes influence how communities respond to violence and injustice, and the mission and the work that we do is to eliminate violence from our tribal communities."
"This is bigger than one viral video, it is about ensuring Native women are treated with respect and humanity."
When the station spoke to Wheels, he provided a statement, writing:
"The comments I made were wrong plain and simple. They were disrespectful to Navajo women and to the entire Gallup community, and I take full responsibility for them."
"There’s no excuse, and I’m not going to offer one. The people of Gallup and Cowboy Iron Gym welcomed me with incredible warmth and hospitality, and they deserved far better from me."
"I have apologized directly to the gym’s ownership, and I apologize publicly to everyone my words hurt especially the Navajo women in that community, who are mothers, business owners, healthcare workers, and leaders. I was ignorant, and I own that."
"Cowboy Iron Gym and the people of Gallup did nothing wrong here. The fault is entirely mine, and any criticism should be directed at me, not at them."
After the clip of Wheels comments went viral, Cowboy Iron Gym, which is owned and operated by Chad and Tiffany Robinson, responded with a public sstatement on Instagram written by Tiffany.
@cowboyirongym/Instagram
While they appreciated Wheels' apology, they encouraged him to go further, writing:
"Since then, Larry has expressed remorse and issued a public apology. Taking responsibility for his words is an important first step, but we have also encouraged him to take the next step by supporting Native communities in a meaningful way."
"We believe a donation to a Navajo-led nonprofit chosen in consultation with community leaders would be a meaningful way to show his commitment to learning from this experience and giving back to the community that welcomed him."
The business added:
"This is bigger than Cowboy Iron Gym. It is about standing with a community that deserves dignity and respect. The Diné, the Navajo people, have shown resilience, generosity, and strength for generations. Those qualities deserve to be recognized, not reduced to harmful stereotypes."
"One of the greatest lessons our community has taught us is that true strength starts with character. Our community welcomed Larry with open arms. We only wish that same respect had been shown in return."
Indigenous women in the United States face an outsized level of violence. According to crime statistics, 80-96% of that violence is at the hands of non-Natives.
The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's (MMIW) movement has pointed to the misinformation, like what was spread by Wheels, as a major contributing factor.
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