President Trump reinstated a travel ban in June 2025 that restricts entry to the United States for athletes from 12 countries, including Iran. In a recent YouTube video shared on June 15, 2025, Lee Priest discussed the ‘blanket ban’ and doubted Hadi Choopan would be able to compete at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
At the 2018 Mr. Olympia, Hadi Choopan was unable to compete due to President Trump’s travel ban. Fortunately, in the years that followed, 2019-2024, Choopan has managed to make it to the prestigious stage despite some difficulties.
In 2022, ‘The Persian Wolf’ reached the pinnacle of his career and used his conditioning to secure the Mr. Olympia title. Since then, he’s taken second place twice: once to Derek Lunsford in 2023, and then again to Samson Dauda in 2024. In light of these setbacks, Choopan is more determined than ever to regain his status as the number one bodybuilder in the world.
Lee Priest’s ‘Gut’ Telling Him Travel Ban Will Prevent Hadi Choopan from Competing at 2025 Mr. Olympia: ‘Why Punish the Fuc**ng Athletes?’
In the recently uploaded YouTube video, Priest shared that his ‘gut’ is telling him Choopan won’t have the opportunity to compete at the 2025 Mr. Olympia.
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“My heart tells me I’d love to see him there but my gut is telling me probably not. I think they’ll do a blanket ban and make it really hard, so maybe not. Unless, I guess if they do a check and look back and see that he’s been before for that contest, hopefully yes, but I don’t think they’re going to do cases individually.”
He adds that the US government doesn’t consider the annual Mr. Olympia major enough to allow for special circumstances.
“I think they’re just going to do a blanket ban, if you’re from Iran, no,” said Priest. “The government doesn’t [consider Mr. Olympia major].”
Priest explained that Arnold Schwarzenegger or Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, could effect change if they sent letters or contacted appropriate personnel.
“Maybe letters from Arnold, since Arnold has been governor of California. He can get some good recommendations for stuff like that, or even what’s his name, Kennedy, because Kennedy is into training at Gold’s and into fitness. If someone like Kennedy can write a letter, that might help him, but as far as him trying by himself, I think they’re going to give him a no.”
Priest said it’s unfair that athletes miss out on important sporting events because of global conflicts supported by government entities.
“I don’t think people should be punished just because the governments are at fucking war,” shared Priest. “Why punish the fucking athletes because of the fuckin governments and their fucking presidents can’t fuckin get along? Sometimes the general public and civilians don’t agree with the war, but what can you do? If the governments want to fight you can’t fucking stop it. Don’t punish the fuckin athletes for being athletes.”
“It’s just not fair to do that to people.”
Choopan isn’t the only high-profile athlete who could be missing from the Mr. Olympia event. Despite qualifying multiple times, Behrooz Tabani has yet to compete on the Mr. Olympia stage. Bodybuilding veterans like Lee Haney believe he’d be a force to be reckoned with, too, signaling that his absence is a major blow to the show’s integrity.
Priest believes the travel ban enacted by President Trump’s administration is unfairly targeting athletes from different countries. Time will tell if they make their way to the US or if it will heavily impact the lineup expected at the 2025 Mr. Olympia, scheduled from October 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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