“It’s Not a Sport”: Comparing Bodybuilding to ‘Pageant’, Legend Jay Cutler Makes a Controversial Statement

Whether bodybuilding qualifies to be categorized as a sport has been an ongoing debate ever since its inception. While it is considered a controversial topic even today, retired bodybuilder Jay Cutler recently compared the agility factor of other sports with respect to bodybuilding. The result of the discussion may or may not align with one’s thoughts. Pursuing a career in bodybuilding requires a strenuous undertaking that effects a disciplinary change in one’s lifestyle. Trivializing the process into “pageant” moments on stage could be a matter stretched too thin.

In the recent episode of Cutler Cast, Jay Cutler discussed the athletic relativity of bodybuilding with that of other sports. Nevertheless, while having a dismissive attitude, Cutler felt compelled to identify bodybuilding competitions with “pageants.”

Jay Cutler and Matt’s intense discussion on bodybuilding as a sport

While discussing the usual scheduling of Mr. Olympia and football matches around the same time of the year, Cutler mentioned his close connection with sports. Cutler identified himself as a true sporter considering his excitement to watch sports. However, he also acknowledged bodybuilding’s debatable consideration as a real sport.

At one point, Cutler was asked by his podcast partner, Matt, to honestly express his view on bodybuilding competitions. The four-time Mr.Olympia hated to admit it, but he did speak his heart, “It is a pageant and I hate to say that. Because, when you talk about pageants, you think of women, right? But, I think, it’s, I don’t know, what.”

To this, Matt termed bodybuilding competitions as a “physique contest” in an attempt to fill the gaps. He explained his point by saying that bodybuilding is more restricted to muscle modeling than anything else. Reaffirming Cutler’s point of view “realistically”, Matt noted, “You’re modeling your physique with certain movements and being judged.”

Nevertheless, Cutler could not help but agree with Matt’s description of the sport. However, Cutler retorted to his points saying that bodybuilding is a physical sport considering the blood and sweat that goes into the gym. Cutler tried to bring more substance to his statements saying that bodybuilders who had an athletic background were able to perform better in the competitions. It was true because such bodybuilders could train drug-free for a longer time and were able to understand their bodies and movements better.

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But while the age-old debate emerges with fresh new perspectives by bodybuilders across time, let’s look at the highlighting reasons to account for why bodybuilding is not considered an Olympic sport.

Reasons why there are questions on whether bodybuilding can become an Olympic sport

From a superficial point of view, bodybuilding differs from other sports like boxing, football, swimming, etc. There are multiple reasons that are attributed to making it a non-Olympic sport. In the past, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Planning Committee (OPC) stated the reasons behind it.

First of all, every Olympic sport maintains strict rules and regulations regarding the use of steroids. The Olympics believes in conducting drug-free and fair competition among its participants. However, in bodybuilding, this is a far-sighted dream. Another major problem is the competition’s judging format. In bodybuilding competitions, the participants are ultimately judged by a judging panel that brings a substantial amount of subjectivity to the decision-making process. Whereas in Olympics sports, the participant’s performance is the only decision-maker.

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Though the focus driving the bodybuilders of the past such as Arnold Schwarzenegger has been to funnel recognition in the right spirits, contemporary bodybuilders such as Jay Cutler are comfortable playing around and challenging the said boundaries. The working knowledge to find their own sweet spot as an interdisciplinary category opens up a lot of possibilities. All in all, fans await how other bodybuilding legends react to Cutler’s statements.