Personally I don't "like" them either, but I won't for a minute give Gene anything but credit for being the best in world (by far) at what it is he does.
Everyone in the world has the same access to the same equipment and no one has come with in 100 lbs of Gene. Only one other man on the planet has even benched 900.
Most powerlifting federations permit shirts so you can't fault the individual lifters for using them. Do you see college baseball players using wooden bats because the don't want to cheat, or do see Mario Lemiux not using a curved stick because he feels it gives him an advantage?
People like to see big benches, long home runs, more goals scored in hockey, more touchdowns in football, so the powers that be in those sports change the rules to give the people what they want.
Bench shirts, moving the fences closer in baseball fields, two line passes, more restricitve rules for cornerbacks, its all the same thing.
I have never heard Gene claim that he is the strongest man in the world, or even the strongest bencher period. He simply claims what he is - the best shirted bencher ever. If anyone has heard him say something else - I would be interested to see it.
Gene is a blue-collar hard working guy like the vast majority of other powerlifters. If the fact that he can bench press 1000lbs allows him to earn a few extra dollars in a sport where the top guys get peanuts, then more power to him. When Gene won the 2004 Arnold Classic - he won $2500 - that didn't even cover paying his spotters and his travel to the event.
