Tom Austin of F2 Group Caught on Video Profiling Black Men at Gym

Tom Austin, a venture capitalist and CEO of the F2 Intelligence Group has been accused of racially profiling black men who were working out in the same gym he was.

Tom Austin is better known to most as the man who led the campaign to “Save Lake Calhoun” (a slave owner) from its name change to Bde Maka Ska.

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Please tell me this man’s name (sounds like Tom Austin) and where he works too. ⁣White people are literally out here using 911 like customer support. ⁣ ⁣ This is also in Minnesota. At the damn building that these brilliant young brothers HAVE A LEASE FOR. ⁣ ⁣ They are trying to get people killed. Period. ⁣ ⁣ When you call police and security on Black men you mean to kill them.

A post shared by Shaun King (@shaunking) on May 27, 2020 at 10:49am PDT

The young black Team Top figure entrepreneurs wrote on their Instagram page “Normally we don’t speak out about encounters of racial profiling and age discrimination that we face day to day in our lives as young black entrepreneurs.”

“Granted we’ve been in this office space and have rented and grown our business for the past 1 year and half here. As we were working out this man approached and immediately asked us who we were and if ‘WE BELONG’ in this building. Granted in order to enter the building you NEED a key card to enter EVERY part of the building which EACH of our team members individually have.”

Tom Austin denies Team Top Figure’s version of the events, saying that “several of these guys were trespassing and using a private gym that was authorized only for building tenants.”

“One of the tenants brought 4 friends and I complained to them that this isn’t right and it’s unfair to the tenants who pay,” he said. “They got in my face in a very threatening manner and I threatened back to call building security.

“I would have done this regardless of race. So this is bullshit.”

Austin later sent an updated email stating:

“Yes, I f—– up. Should have handled it differently. Building management had been complaining that tenants were allowing their friends to trespassing and use a private gym that was authorized only for building tenants. I noticed that one of the tenants seemed to have brought 4 friends and I complained to them that this isn’t right and it’s unfair to the tenants who pay. One guy was letting his other 4 friends in and out of the building with his FOB. Nobody else had a FOB. When I said something, they got in my face in a very threatening manner accusing me of racial profiling. I said it wasn’t racial profiling and was all about suspicious activity/behavior. Because they were in my face, I took photos and threatened back to call the building security. I actually only called the building property manager! I would have done this regardless of race. In fact, I told them I’d have done the same thing if they were white, or even a bunch of girls who were trespassing. What surprises me is that we worked out in gym together for another 45 minutes after I had already apologized to them for making them feel it was a race issue, when in fact it was not.”