Almost exactly a week ago, Shawn Rhoden’s attorneys published a first statement concerning the accusations of rape and abuse as viewed from the standpoint of the accused. The defense team’s negotiations with the prosecution resulted in a reduction of the bail from 750.000 to 250.000 US Dollars and a vacation of the arrest warrant. The reigning Mr. Olympia, who, according to our current knowledge status, will most likely miss Mr. Olympia this year, had remained silent until yesterday when he appealed to the broader mass with a public message.
In a personal statement manually signed with “Mr. Olympia”, Shawn Rhoden vehemently denies the commission of a serious crime. He himself would have been shocked and perplexed when the accusations were raised against him. Neither his upbringing nor his character would allow him to commit “such atrocities“. Rhoden emphatically expounds his passion for the sport of bodybuilding as a main argument against the plausibility of the allegations on a fundamental level:
“To my family, loved ones, friends, sponsors, fellow competitors and everyone in this sport, I’m sorry that these false allegations brought embarrassment to the sport I love, especially knowing how much you, and the sport, mean to me. For all I have given to bodybuilding, and what it has done for me, I would never do what these allegations claim and jeopardize my position as Mr. Olympia, something I have trained and sacrificed over two decades for. To have my reputation tarnished, and my opportunity to compete revoked, over such falsities is devastating, outrageous and unjust.”
It was the predominant topic as such during the last one and a half weeks: Shawn Rhoden, reigning Mr. Olympia, allegedly raped and sexually abused a woman in October 2018. Whatever actually happened in the hotel room of the 44-year-old, who was on a visit in Utah from California for a guest appearance, has been […]
Shawn Rhoden continues that he could claim with utmost conviction and honesty that he wouldn’t have committed this crime. The current Mr. Olympia would have cooperated fully with the law enforcement system from the beginning, and he would continue to do so. Moreover, he would have never deviated from his “position of innocence”, and he would be looking forward to having his reputation, standing and his eligibility for competing fully restored.
Meanwhile, Shawn’s lawyer Rick Collins made an appeal to the public to reach out in case one would have any sort of hints or indications regarding the events that took place on said evening in fall 2018 in Rhoden’s hotel in Utah. This call may be of especially interesting for our US-American readers, so we decided to quote it fully:
“The incident involving the criminal charges against Shawn occurred on Friday night, October 12th, 2018, during the weekend of the 2018 NPC Utah Classic in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Host Hotel for the contest was the Courtyard by Marriott, located at 10701 Holiday Park Dr., Sandy, Utah. I ask anyone who was in the hotel lobby on that Friday night between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm to call me at 516-294-0300. Or to email me at rcollins@cgmbesq.com. I am particularly interested in anyone who observed Shawn during that time interval or anyone who has video or pictures taken in the lobby during that time. Please call me if you were there. If you know people who were there and might have taken pictures or video, encourage them to call me. Shawn and I greatly appreciate it.”
Like Larry Wheels and Jeremy Buendia – the other two athletes who have been sucked into the maelstrom of allegations of physical and psychic abuse -, Shawn Rhoden underlines his claim that the accusations would not have any merits whatsoever. Additionally, the Jamaican-American hinted in a post on Instagram, that he would still be prepping himself for the upcoming Mr. Olympia event. Seemingly, the title holder hasn’t given up hope to get onstage in Las Vegas in September.
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