ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥 Sgt. Emily Gilyon, a veteran St. Louis County cop, posted to Facebook 15 minutes after she got the text on Friday. Her friend, a former police officer, had sent her Andy Frisella鈥檚 latest podcast on YouTube and said, 鈥淟isten to this.鈥
She heard Frisella 鈥 a St. Louis native, fitness entrepreneur and major police donor 鈥 go on an obscenity-filled rant in which he said women should not be cops and that men could 鈥減unch a hole through their (expletive) face and end their (expletive) life鈥 if the women officers weren鈥檛 armed with guns and badges.
Gilyon, an officer for almost 25 years, said she was 鈥渄isappointed and disgusted.鈥 The sergeant tagged 21 regional police departments in her Facebook post. It was shared more than 60 times, and the 90-second video clip has been played more than 7,500 times.
Within hours of her Facebook post, Frisella faced a media firestorm and backlash from the law enforcement community, many of whom publicly vowed to sever all financial and other ties with the fitness mogul.
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Frisella co-founded Supplement Superstore and 1st Phorm nutritional supplements and created the popular 鈥75 Hard鈥 fitness challenge. His Instagram account has 3.3 million followers, and his 鈥淩eal AF鈥 podcast has millions of listeners.
鈥淗is supporters keep saying Frisella should be allowed to say what he wants on his podcast,鈥 Gilyon told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. 鈥淗e absolutely is, but that鈥檚 a two-way street. Others are also allowed to voice their opinions even if they are not in line with his views.鈥
Frisella could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Gilyon said she emailed the department鈥檚 human resources director on Friday, pointing out that his company had just hosted a free class on Sept. 6 for officers about fitness and nutrition and that another was upcoming.
Gilyon said this weekend she threw away all of her 1st Phorm supplements, noting that many cops had shopped there because there are not many supplement stores in the area.
鈥淗e won鈥檛 get another dime from me,鈥 she wrote in her Facebook post.
Frisella voiced his controversial opinions in an episode of his 鈥淩eal AF鈥 podcast on Thursday, which also happened to be National Police Woman鈥檚 Day. The comments came as he discussed last weekend鈥檚 traffic stop of Tyreek Hill, a wide receiver for the NFL鈥檚 Miami Dolphins, in Florida.
St. Louis and St. Louis County police chiefs condemned Frisella鈥檚 rant by Sunday and said they would sever all ties with his fitness companies and donations. St. Louis County Executive Sam Page also condemned the comments and supported the chief鈥檚 decision to cut ties. The St. Louis County police union sent out a letter supporting its female members.
Frisella has since edited that portion out of the recording and tried to walk back his comments in two separate recordings.
A new podcast recording was posted to his YouTube channel Monday, although it seemed to be pre-recorded and did not mention the controversy.
鈥淚f you listen to his apology, count the number of times he says 鈥榮orry,鈥欌 Gilyon said Monday. 鈥淚 heard the word 鈥榮orry鈥 one time towards the end. He talks about how he is 鈥榚mbarrassed and regretful鈥 and says the words 鈥榤e鈥 and 鈥業鈥 over and over.鈥