Corrupt judges, sex, and payoffs.
The sport of bodybuilding looks very exciting on the outside, but behind the scenes, it had some very dark moments, and details are still being revealed.
On Iron IG‘s latest episode, with Armon Adibi, King Kamali, and special guest Lee Priest, several subjects were discussed during their two-part episode. One discussion stood out, and that was about corrupt judges, sex, and payoffs, from athletes to get better placings at bodybuilding and fitness events.
During the second episode, Armon Adibi, revealed that former NPC Chairman and Head Judge, Lee Thompson, allegedly got paid up to $10,000 from athletes to change the judging results and give them a good placing which would result in the athlete allegedly winning their pro card.
Armon also revealed that Thompson would allegedly invite three to four bikini athletes to his hotel room for sex, and promise them good placings in return.
Armon also revealed that he was a judge for approximately seven years. At one event that Armon was judging, when the results were finalized, Armon said that the head judge would allegedly force them to change the results, or the head judge would change them himself, to award the athlete that paid them.
Lee Thompson has since left the bodybuilding world and dedicated his life to religion. Lee is on record admitting his bad ways in the sport, which was one of the reasons he turned to religion.
Over the years, several other prominent figures within the NPC and Pro League have been accused of allegedly receiving payoffs and having sex in return for results.
Thompson was not the only judge who was paid off, Armon mentioned other judges during the podcast.
Armon also revealed another experience when he was an amateur competitor when he was approached by a judge for some sexual favors, but he refused and ended up placing lower than he deserved. This was at the 2009 NPC North American Championships, where Armon finished in ninth place.
King Kamali remained quiet while Armon was revealing episodes with Lee Thompson, but he then talked about the 1999 NPC National Championships, when he won his pro card.
King Kamali won the heavyweight category, to earn his pro card at the 1999 NPC Nationals.
Before the finals, Kamali explained that he was resting on the floor, behind a booth at the expo, and he, his mother, and other people, who were around him, heard two judges, whom Kamali refused to reveal, congratulate Aaron Maddron, for winning the overall title before the event event took place.
Lee Priest also mentioned that he was speaking to former Mr. Olympia promoter, Wayne DeMilia, and he confirmed that the FBI is allegedly still investigating Jim Manion, the NPC, and the Pro League, for tax evasion, and other charges that fall under the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).
These horrible episodes might have occurred over 25 years ago, but have these problems been solved, or are they still happening more discretely?
An athlete or coach will allegedly always find a way to get to a judge. Everybody is human, and for the right amount of money, some people do fall. The sport has been cleaned up, but allegedly these problems could still be happening today.
Bodybuilding pundits that are 100% loyal to Jim Manion, the NPC, and Pro League, will rubbish these claims, but the same people know that if they do reveal the wrongdoings in the sport, they will suffer major consequences.
Evolutionofbodybuilding.net will continue to expose the corruption and wrongdoings in the sport of bodybuilding.
Stay tuned for more in-depth articles in the near future.
Read more about the investigations into the NPC, Pro League, and Jim Manion – Click HERE.
