Roelly Winklaar believes politics affected his bodybuilding career and talks about his shoulder injury.
Roelly Winklaar recently revealed why he walked away from competitive bodybuilding, explained his shoulder injury and how politics may have affected his placing while active. The popular bodybuilding veteran was candid about what halted his career in a recent podcast interview with William Bonac.
There is no doubt about it, every arena, no matter the endeavor, involves some level of politics. From government to entertainment to even water cooler conversations at the office, politics seeps its way into everything. That includes professional sports as well. We are some athletes get favorable treatment. There are others who are treated as outcasts. These black sheep are usually given the shaft due to refusing to play ball or because of some slight aimed at a person in power.
While many choose to believe those at the top operate above board, there have indeed been incidents in the past that have revealed the opposite. Many people in power have ulterior motives and have the ability to bend things to their will as they see fit. Roelly Winklaar is alleging that bodybuilding is no different. In a recent podcast interview with fellow IFBB Pro William Bonac, Winklaar alleges that politics affected his placings in bodybuilding shows.
Stepping Away From Competition
Having stepped away from competition after the 2021 Romanian Muscle Fest Pro, Roelly Winklaar has shown no signs of returning to action. That is due in large part because of a shoulder injury he suffered in a car accident. Winklaar went on to explain his reasons for stepping away from competition.
“I got in a very bad car accident, very bad accident, where I almost lose my eyes and half of my arm was – damaged. And I stopped with the sport because I can’t even move my shoulder and I think that’s the part of that whole thing that I have now too. But I stay like one year and a half, don’t train.”
A shoulder injury is no small hurdle to overcome. Having a shoulder injury means an individual will have a difficult time working on multiple different body parts. Without the ability to use your shoulder at full strength working on your arms, chest, and back will be an uphill battle.
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Politics in Bodybuilding
But it appears that the shoulder injury is just the tip of the iceberg as to why Roelly Winklaar has remained retired. It appears that the Curaçaoan native believes that politics may have affected his career. Winklaar went on to explain to William Bonac that his placings likely suffered due to outside influences.
“I think a lot [of politics in bodybuilding affected my placings], that’s the thing, you know. They do it a lot with me. What I do, is still laugh, what can you do, you can’t do nothing. If you be angry, your place would be worse.”
Roelly Winklaar is alleging that those in power can affect a competitor’s placing. According to Winklaar it’s doubly so if there is some kind of difference in opinion behind the scenes.
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Winklaar is also claiming that if you spoke up about this that it would affect your placing even further. While this is only hearsay it does raise concerns as to whether bodybuilding placing are based on more than just an athlete’s physique. However, until there is definitive evidence of foul play there’s no way to verify whether Winklaar’s statements are true or not.
To see the full podcast interview click here.
What do you think of Roelly Winklaar, his reason for walking away from competition and his allegations?
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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.
