I completly disagree...I am upholding the interests of the bodybuilders...as a whole.
So far...1 guy has expresses an interest in competing in other federations....ONE.
Until it's made known to me that there are supporting numbers of athletes with the same wishes...the rule wont be challenged.
I've offered to have a anonymous vote taken at the athletes meeting on the matter...if the majority wants to challenge it, I have no problem with presenting it on their behalf.
You are under the assumption that this is a big issue with the IFBB pros...it's not.
Chick, you know more of the guys than I do, and you know more of them better.
But one thing that comes through with guys I know is FEAR.
The IFBB is the only meal ticket for anyone involved in professional bodybuilding who doesn't have something else going on (i.e., a job outside the industry). Jobs INSIDE the industry are predicated on contest placings (MuscleTech isn't going to write a check for some guy who places 15th all the time), so anything perceived as potentially threatening those contest placings is avoided.
Which makes me wonder how honest the guys are being with you. Maybe you're right. Maybe they're happy with what the IFBB has to offer; maybe they're willing to work from within the organization for change; maybe they really think PDI will crash and burn.
But then again, if they consider you--rightly or wrongly--as "in the pocket" (so to speak) of the IFBB, they'll be reluctant to bring this up with you. For the IFBB pros I know, this IS a big issue, but they're being smart and watching what unfolds.
If PDI is successful, meaning, in part, it proves that it's here to stay, I think we'll see an exodus of IFBB athletes to its shows in the next 2-3 years. Guys are scared to speak up or test new waters now, and I can't say I blame them. Lee Priest is in a unique position: towards the end of his career, branching out into other endeavors, secure, and always outspoken (sometimes to a fault).
I have heard stories from insiders (not just athletes who felt they were screwed) of "higher ups" erasing scorecards and penciling in guys higher. I have seen many contests where the athletes of prominent sponsors have placed quite high (higher than they should have, in my estimation). I have watched the Olympia be a contest for third place the last five years, and before that a contest for second for six. I am watching the threads between AMI and MD and can't believe Pecker is so thin-skinned that he has his staff go after Blechman or, if it isn't Pecker ordering it, that the staff members at Flex feel they have to "protect" their boss. All the shit anyone ever talked about the Weiders, I don't recall in the 20 years I've been following FLEX going after any other magazine like that.
Time will tell.