Well, Lee and Keith and Milos are real men and speak their minds. I wish more people could do that. What happens is that bodybuilders want to win the Olympia and since it is the biggest contest they learn to tow the line. If Lee gets the boot by rebelling then that is one less guy to compete against. Every bodybuilder quickly learns what NOT to do. Namely don't think or try to go against those running the IFBB contests.
Ben Weider is fond of calling what he does the Official way. When you look at organizations, even Olympic ones, you end up seeing individuals running things. Ben gets Manion and others to support him. He gives them power and they tow the line. If you look at this thread you see how the IFBB works. Read what Chick says. Lee is only one person so will be ignored. Heck, way to go, Chick, you will be promoted for saying that. Better still, you will be athlete rep for life!!
Only me says it better than I can. The plain truth is you have to kiss butt to win IFBB contests. There are no exceptions. I love the way the IFBB placed Sergio and Bev Francis 8th. Ben Weider virtually fixed the 83 debut contest Bev competed in. It is all documented in "Pumping Iron, The Women." There was Steve Weinberger shaking his head wondering what happened. Well, if he had a clue he would have realized that they would never let Bev win. She was bad for women's bodybuilding. They never did let her win the Olympia. It is my opinion that the IFBB has a posedown so that errant judges can correct their scores. We have seen this several times in the history of the sport. They did it one year when Bev was winning except lost in the posedown. That is what the posedown is for. Ben is clever. He continues to dupe clueless, gutless bodybuilders. Serge Nubret was popular in Europe so Ben elected himself life president to prevent Serge or anyone else from ever running the IFBB.
In 1981 a group of us ran contests in Sydney. We respected bodybuilders and all decisions were done for their benefit. One thing we did was publish the judges results at the end of the contest. It was simple to do but not possible if you have a posedown that might alter placings. There is no way anyone can judge a posedown where all are doing different things. It is preposterous. Yet Chick and others seem to accept this blatant nonsense. It is a pity Ben was never a bodybuilder. Come to think about it Joe hardly lifted a weight, either. I don't trust non-bodybuilders. I don't trust the IFBB when they install former criminals to help them do whatever it is that they do. It surely is not the sport of bodybuilding. The IFBB stinks from the top down. Guys like me are never invited to judge or contribute. I could redo the whole judging enterprise to make it fair and valid. Until someone fair redoes this the nonsense we witness yearly will continue. Lee will be silenced and he will be used to keep the others kissing butt. Watch and see if I am right.