How is it that promoters like Brent Jones and Richard Siegelman are struggling to get just a fraction of the competitors their contests got less than a year ago, today?
What’s different? They’re at the helm, they’re using the same venues, with the same host hotels and the same top notch productions. What’s different is that they’re no longer with the National Physique Committee, or NPC, and they’re now with the IFBB Physique America. That’s the only difference, but it’s the difference between having hundreds of amateur competitors and have virtually none.
What accounts for the fact that most of these athletes who have been doing these Rich’s two shows in Maryland or Brent’s two shows in Kentucky each and every year have opted to stay in 2023? Are they being told not to compete? And if so, by whom? Are they being threatened? Are there repercussions for those who do compete?
The question of unfair business practices in the sport of bodybuilding is one that’s been analyzed over the years, but never before have we had such a glaring case of it as with the shocking drop in competitor sign-up as with Rich and Brent’s shows. This is at minimum, concerning, and if tortious interference is in fact at play, it may be grounds for legal action.
