Muscle Sport Magazine

mSm Will Hire Shawn Rhoden

Shawn Rhoden did not even have a chance to speak to his employer and explain the situation before he was handed his walking papers in more ways than one. Not only did American Media, Inc. declare him ineligible to not only defend his Mr. Olympia title in September, but is banned forever from competing in bodybuilding’s Super Bowl, as well. And to make matters worse, they dumped him as a sponsored athlete from their bodybuilding/fitness publications, “until the legal process has been completed.”

Due process and one’s day in court obviously mean nothing to David Pecker, the man who runs AMI, who obviously made a knee-jerk reaction a mere few hours after the Utah Police Department issued an arrest warrant on Rhoden, 44, for an alleged rape that occurred on October 12, 2018. Concern about being politically correct – especially in the #MeToo climate our society is in – took precedent over loyalty and even the possibility that Rhoden is innocent of the crimes he is accused of. And does the last part mean that Pecker will bring Rhoden back into the magazine fold but keep him out of the Olympia?

RELATED: Shawn Rhoden Charged With 2018 Rape

MuscleSport Media does not do business like that; we don’t call it The mSm Family for shits and giggles. So we would like to extend this offer to Rhoden and it has no expiration date, regardless of what the conclusion is of the Utah incident:

We will hire you immediately as a columnist for MuscleSport Magazine.

“It’s easy to kick someone when they are down, but it takes a true friend to stand by someone at their worst hour,” MuscleSport, LLC Owner and President Joe Pietaro says. “I have known Shawn personally for a number of years and was his ghostwriter in 2012 when I worked for FLEX magazine. We have remained friendly since then and always exchange pleasantries when we saw one another at expos, events, etc. and I could not conduct enough interviews with him.

RELATED: NYPD DETECTIVE / RHODEN RAPE ALLEGATION

“So I would love to work together again but with one caveat – Shawn will in fact write his own column since mSm does not use ghostwriters like the rest of the industry. His fans will finally hear directly from him instead of a third party putting his words together.”

Never politically correct nor concerned about repercussions from publishing an article or video, mSm has always been the ‘bad boys’ of the bodybuilding media. In fact, we have a new column appearing in our next issue that was literally written in prison. Tyler “Musclehead320” Baumann is serving a multi-year sentence for steroids and is now on board with us. “Musclehead Underground” will be a regular feature in our print (and accompanying digital) magazine.

The federation that Rhoden competes in has decided to punt instead of making a decision regarding Rhoden’s status. This is at least a little better than what AMI did to their reigning champion, but still remains ambiguous.

“The IFBB Professional League has not at this time taken any action for or against Shawn Rhoden,” a press release dated July 14, 2019 stated. “Following the advice of our attorneys, the IFBB Professional League will continue to closely monitor the situation while respecting the rights of the accuser, the accused, and the company which owns the prestigious Mr. Olympia contest. This is a difficult and emotional time for all involved.”

Does that mean Rhoden will be able to compete in any other shows they sanction besides the Olympia?

Well, we here at mSm are not conferring with any attorneys about this decision. We want Rhoden and do not care if that pisses or ‘offends’ certain folks. The man has a right to earn a living now while this case is settled in court. And that is by no means condoning what he is accused of, but merely giving him the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty.

Obviously, Rhoden has bigger fish to fry right now. But we want to let him know that not everyone in this industry is turning their backs on him. The man who graced the cover of our Winter 2013 issue has a home here if he chooses to join us.

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