Kai Greene: Bodybuilder Banned From Mr. Olympia Competition, Could Lead To Major Rift In The Sport

Kai Greene was a top contender for the 2015 Mr. Olympia competition, but instead, the bodybuilder has been banned from the competition and could be part of a major rift within the sport.

Greene, a veteran of the bodybuilding scene for more than two decades and one of the most recognizable figures, announced his ban in a tearful YouTube video. He did not get into reasons for the ban but explained that there may be another project in the works in place of the Mr. Olympia competition.

“You don’t get this far, you don’t get to this point, and just stop,” he said (via Sport Act). “It doesn’t happen like that. I am not a victim, I’m not a… they ain’t gonna break me. And I don’t wanna speak negatively to anybody. I don’t wanna speak negatively about anything else. Let me just say that there’s more going on than… than I’m able to say.”

As Tiger Fitness noted, there were several ideas about why Kai Greene may have been banned from the competition, including speculation that he had asked for a promotional booth for free and got into a standoff with event coordinators. But Mr. Olympia promoter Robin Chang later released a statement placing the blame squarely on Greene.

“Kai has had his Olympia contract since April but refused to sign it for reasons known only to Kai. This is the same contract Kai has signed for the past 6 years. Nothing has changed but the dates. If he was banned from competing, why would we send him the contract? I’ve even heard he said he was banned from the expo! Are you kidding me?

“The decision has always been Kai’s. If he REALLY wanted to compete, all he had to do was sign the contract and send it back to us, like he has done the past 6 years. The last time I spoke to Kai was with his manager about a month ago when they inquired about a booth at the Olympia. No indication that he wasn’t going to compete. I haven’t spoken to them since.”

In leaving the Mr. Olympia competition, Kai Green could be part of a major rift within the bodybuilding scene. Not long after Greene’s announcement, high-ranking official and former Mr. Olympia judge Lee Thompson announced that he is starting his own bodybuilding organization, Nspire Physique Champions Global, one that has already attracted some big names from the body-building field.

[Image via YouTube]