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The industry abandoned Shawn Rhoden when he needed them most

November 8, 2021

The industry abandoned Shawn Rhoden when he needed them most.

The death of Shawn Rhoden is one of the biggest tragedies in the sport of bodybuilding. Shawn went from being Mr. Olympia to Mr. Zero, due to the alleged decisions taken by the NPC/Pro League and the Olympia Weekend organizers.

Shawn’s death affected the entire industry of bodybuilding, thousands of fans and friends have been posting photos of themselves with Shawn on their social media.

Many have speculated what caused the death of Shawn Rhoden, but his friend Chris Aceto, believes the cause of death was stress which led to a “broken heart”.

The incidents that destroyed Shawn Rhoden

Immediately after winning the 2018 Mr. Olympia, Shawn Rhoden found himself being accused of rape.

After these accusations were made public, former Olympia Weekend owner, David Pecker, revoked the eligibility for Shawn Rhoden to defend his title at the 2019 and future Mr. Olympia events.

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Many believed this situation would only last for one year, but until his death, Shawn Rhoden would never compete again. If Shawn Rhoden was given the opportunity to compete again, he had a great chance of winning many more Mr. Olympia titles.

Shawn Rhoden’s close friend and coach, Chris Aceto, always vented his frustration against the powers that run the sport, mainly David Pecker, the former owner of the Olympia Weekend.

Regardless of the charges against Shawn Rhoden, he was still innocent until proven guilty.

The former Olympia Weekend organizers were not the only ones to turn their backs on Shawn Rhoden, but the NPC/Pro League allegedly did not step in to protect their own athlete.

Not long after David Pecker’s decision to ban Shawn Rhoden, the NPC/Pro League’s owner, Jim Manion, published an official press release stating that they are “following the situation closely”, this was published on 14 July, 2019.

Even when Shawn Rhoden tried to compete in other NPC/Pro League events, other than the Mr. Olympia, he was allegedly denied, even when he was in contest shape.

In 2020, Shawn Rhoden was very close to competing at the 2020 Arnold Classic. This was confirmed by the organizers publishing a poster with Shawn Rhoden standing next to Big Ramy.

Not long after the original 2020 Arnold Classic poster was published on the official Arnold Classic social media accounts, it was removed, leaving the bodybuilding world very confused.

The industry managed to destroy Shawn Rhoden’s dreams of competing again and from that moment till his death, there was no more talk of Shawn Rhoden every competing again.

Chris Aceto believes the pressure killed Shawn Rhoden

In a recent episode of ‘Heavy Muscle Radio‘, a very somber Chris Aceto, explained the situation that Shawn Rhoden was in, better than anybody else.

Chris believes that the pressure from not being able to do what he loves, led to Rhoden’s death. On top of that, Rhoden went from being financially stable to having no income at all, and was abandoned by the industry.

“You want the raw answer? (I was) not surprised (to hear the news). Not surprised one bit. If you listen to this show, for the last three years I’ve been saying, when you ask me or when people around the country ask me, ‘How does Shawn hold up?’ No one holds up under the circumstances he was under. No one holds up.

“Shawn won $400,000 at the Mr. Olympia, he had a incredibly impressive contract in ’18, from winning that show. Worked his whole life to win that title, and all of that was taken away with a phone call. The entire industry turned its back. So am I surprised, no.” Aceto explained.

“He (Shawn Rhoden) gave everything to this sport and more and when he needed help, doors closed quickly. At every turn. It made me very angry and even then Shawn never said a negative word in public or in private about anyone.” – Chris Aceto

Chris then compared Rhoden’s situation with the pressures his own father had to live in.

“The only time I saw my father cry, he was sitting on the front steps of my house. I came home from school, I couldn’t believe it. I thought someone died. He couldn’t get a job. He didn’t really have any skills, and the work that he had done for 25 years, he had lost his job… He couldn’t get a job, so he couldn’t provide for five kids, let alone himself. His livelihood was gone.

“If I told Dave Palumbo, I heard Dave Palumbo, he accidentally drove over a little kid at the playground. He killed a little kid by accident, and he’s going to go to jail for 20 years and you’re never going to see your three little kids or your wife, ever. You would either go into the jail and pick up some religious book, and read it one million times so that you don’t go crazy. Or you would go crazy. Or you may choose to kill yourself. Or you may have a heart attack of a broken heart.” Aceto said.

Aceto also explained how Rhoden supported all the athletes, even when he knew he could not compete.

“Bodybuilding was in Shawn’s DNA. That’s why even when he couldn’t compete, you’d see him at the Olympia, I just ran into him at the Reno show, you’d see him at all kinds of shows where he couldn’t get onstage, but he could be around all these other bodybuilders. That’s his love.

“So when you’re at the pinnacle — and it did not come easy to win the Mr. Olympia — when you’re at the pinnacle of pinnacles and the National Enquirer tells you, you can’t come compete anymore, and the organization does not have your back, full stop, it causes a lot of stress,” Chris Aceto concluded.

Chris did not hide the fact that the use of PED’s does damage a bodybuilder’s body, but at the same time, he truly believes that Shawn Rhoden died of a broken heart.

The NPC/Pro League and Olympia Weekend organizers can’t take the criticism

Two posts on social media stood out above the rest in the past few days. The official NPC/Pro League and Olympia social media pages published very short messages with condolences dedicated to Shawn and his family.

Reading these messages as an outsider might sound very nice, but if you have been reading the news since 2019, these messages from the NPC/Pro League and the Olympia Weekend organizers will literally make you sick to the stomach.

The same people that have kept Shawn Rhoden from doing what he loves, published condolences on their social media pages.

The Olympia Weekend organizers said, “2018 Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden has unexpectedly passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shawn’s daughter and all who loved him. Shawn was the 14th winner of the Mr. Olympia, earning him the distinction of being one of the greatest of all time,” Olympia LLC.

Not long after, the NPC/Pro League followed by publishing another small statement, “We are saddened to hear about the passing of 2018 Mr. Olympia Shawn Rhoden . Our thoughts, prayers and condolences to his daughter and his family. #RIP
President Jim Manion and the NPC and IFBB Professional League,” NPC/Pro League.

To avoid any comments or accusations against their establishments, the NPC/Pro League and the Olympia Weekend organizers, disabled the option to comment on these posts.

Evolutionofbodybuilding.net believes that the new owner of the Olympia Weekend, Jake Wood, and NPC/Pro League owner, Jim Manion, should do more in regards to giving their respects to Shawn Rhoden.

Shawn Rhoden was the 14th person in the history of the sport to win the Mr. Olympia title. He was allegedly abandoned by NPC/Pro League’s Jim Manion, former Olympia Weekend owner David Pecker and now new owner Jake Wood when he needed them most.

What’s next? Most probably, a video at the 2022 Mr. Olympia dedicated to Shawn Rhoden, created by the same people that kicked him out of the sport.

The NPC/Pro League and Olympia LLC will never be able to correct or undue what they did to Shawn Rhoden. The man has died now and he most probably was very sad when he died.

Until Shawn Rhoden was given the chance to clear his name, he should of had the complete backing of Jim Manion and Jake Wood.

If Shawn continued to compete to this day, he most probably would still be with us.

Shawn would have handled the pressure to clear his name better, and at the same time, he would have had the opportunity to continue providing financially for his family.

His daily training routines and extreme diets would have had a purpose, rather than false dream.

Shawn Rhoden was not the only competitor that had legal problems

Unfortunately, the NPC/Pro League and the Olympia Weekend organization, do not treat all competitors in the same way.

Shawn Rhoden was not the only athlete with legal problems, but allegedly, a number of other competitors already have criminal records or are still allegedly waiting to go on trial. In fact some of these competitors competed at the 2021 Olympia Weekend, without any problems.

So why was Shawn Rhoden singled out? Shawn did not even go to trial yet, and now, he will never be able to clear his name.

In the last years of his life, Shawn was denied the right to do what he loves. He was denied the right to provide for his family and he was accused to be ‘guilty until proven innocent’.

Chris Aceto talks about the Shawn Rhoden he knew

Chris Aceto is not one who uses social media on a daily basis, but after the sudden death of Shawn Rhoden, he published a few words explaining who Shawn Rhoden really was.

“The best part of being in Shawn Rhoden’s inner circle is to bear witness to his desire, ability and need to validate others. Shawn was a giver. Not a taker. He shared his time with others. He encouraged others, including his competition. We spent endless hours together. Endless. And he never spoke badly about anyone. Ever. He gave everything to this sport and more and when he needed help, doors closed quickly. At every turn. It made me very angry and even then Shawn never said a negative word in public or in private about anyone. Some whom could have helped. He was full of kindness, goodness and empathy. Traits we, who knew him well, traits that made us fall in love with him. And made us want to be better. He uplifted everyone. For these and many other reasons I will miss an athlete who naturally became a genuine and dear friend.” – Chris Aceto

As Shawn would say… “Smile and Wave”