SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus company known for its stunning aerial acts, is being targeted by protesters here for firing an acrobat infected with the HIV virus, a move that also has been criticized by figure skater Rudy Galindo and several Olympic athletes.

Galindo, the 1996 U.S. skating champion, said that his own experience performing and touring since being diagnosed with HIV three years ago made him a natural ally of Matthew Cusick, the Silver Spring, Md. gymnast who was trained and then dismissed by Cirque du Soleil.

“My sincere hope and prayer is that Cirque du Soleil reconsiders their grossly unfair and heartless decision, and that they reinstate Mr. Cusick immediately — wishing him well and supporting his determination to be the best athlete and entertainer he can be,” Galindo said in a statement.

Cusick, 32, planned to be in San Francisco for a demonstration outside the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium, where Cirque du Soleil is performing this month. The protest is the first against the company since the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed a federal employment discrimination complaint on Cusick’s behalf in July.

Michael Adams, Lambda Legal’s director of education, said that while the group is not calling for a boycott against Cirque du Soleil, it hopes to pressure the circus into changing its policies on HIV-positive performers by appealing directly to ticket-holders.

“One of the characteristics of Cirque du Soleil is they draw together thousands of people every evening. That represents a public we have the opportunity to communicate with,” he said.

Depending on the response, similar demonstrations may be organized in other cities where Cirque du Soleil appears, including Las Vegas, Atlanta and New York, Adams said.

Cusick’s complaint is still pending before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. But Cirque du Soleil has acknowledged that he was fired as a “catcher” in the Russian High Bar act and a Chinese tall pole acrobat days before he was to join the circus in Las Vegas because of the risk his HIV status allegedly posed to other performers. He had trained with the group for four months.

The company has denied that it discriminates against HIV-positive employees and says that Cusick is eligible for other jobs with Cirque du Soleil that require less direct physical contact. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is usually transmitted when an infected person mingles blood or genital fluids with another, such as through unprotected sex or intravenous drug use.

Cusick’s attorney, Hayley Gorenberg, said her client has not been offered any other performing jobs with the circus, but it would be irrelevant even if he had because medical studies show the chance of transmitting HIV through sports is very low.

“He was offered these jobs and he was, to his detriment, up front about his HIV status very early in the process,” Gorenberg said. “After their own doctors found it was perfectly acceptable, they trained him in these jobs.”

Many sports organizations, including the NCAA, don’t bar participation by HIV-positive athletes. Along with Galindo, former Olympic divers David Picheler and Patrick Jeffrey have lobbied Cirque du Soleil to allow Cusick to perform.