Washington Post Articles

[Mac11wildcat]

WaPo is absolutely going off right now on bodybuilding, the NPC/IFBB, the Manions, etc.

Some fair, some borderline hit pieces, some blatant misrepresentations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-extreme-training/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/bodybuilding-health-risks/

View: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/investigations/exploited-for-decades-female-bodybuilders-speak-out/2022/10/25/a93a60ff-b70a-42de-8cf6-7ed5f808f403_video.html

 

[Millard]

It comes just a few weeks after this WaPo's article, the first installment in the "Built&Broken" investigation, by George Butler's son:

Female bodybuilders describe widespread sexual exploitation

A lot of people are asking what/who prompted the investigation by a major news organization into a marginalized sport that is generally ignored by mainstream?

 

[Millard]

And this one today:

What bodybuilders do to their bodies — and brains

 

[Mac11wildcat]

That first article about “sexual exploitation” is kind of odd. They make this claim that it’s “pay to play,” nudes for placings, and then have sources who didn’t place well.

 

[Country Club Hero]

Well considering most of the Washington post’s work is completely fictional I wouldn’t be too concerned about any perceived inaccuracies you may find.

 

[Deadp007]

The Washington comPost is a worthless piece of trash.

 

[Millard]

It's not the factual reporting that is the main issue - it's the bias and (mis)representation.

I think the NPC/IFBB pro have suggested that this investigation resulted from a vendetta by a disgruntled former promoter.

And they are not wrong.

Demond Butler is the son of George Butler (of Pumping Iron fame) who was good friends with Wayne Demilia.

Demilia initiated the investigation by reaching out to Desmond and suggesting that he look into the Manions/NPC/IFBB. Of all the places to do this, Demilia pulled Desmond aside while he was mourning the death of his father at a church memorial.

Don't take my word for it. Here is the WaPo series co-author in his own words. To his credit he disclosed the origins of the investigation:

'At a memorial service in December, a lot of old friends turned up at a church near his former apartment and office in Manhattan. Some of them were people I knew from my childhood window into the bodybuilding world. Bill Grant, a top competitor from the Muscle Beach era captured in “Pumping Iron,” was there. So was Carla Dunlap-Kaan, one of the stars of “Pumping Iron II.”

'The conversations at a time of loss brought me back to my earliest days with my father and the bodybuilding giants. At the church, an old friend of my dad’s stopped me. It was Wayne DeMilia, who had run a professional bodybuilding federation years ago and had often been my father’s guide to the bodybuilding underground.

'“This is not the time to talk about this, but I want to tell you about a possible investigation,” he said. In a meeting weeks later, he laid out alarming stories of recent abuses.'

Demilia subsequently became Desmond's guide to the bodybuilding underground.

Demilia was "fired" from IFBB and replaced by Manion in the 2000s. He unsuccessfully tried to compete against NPC/IFBB with his own organization PDI.