No, NOOOOOOO, no. 
Does no good to say “I told you so”, because I never met the man, like the vast majority of his fans. But FUCK it, I could see during the many years of him doing B/O rows in that jerky fashion he would eventually mess up his lower back - it was ASKING for trouble.
And he was doing those in what, 2000? That’s when his first vid came out featuring him swanning around in his patrol car, it’s not as if he just performed a few crappy workouts, this was his form for a DECADE.
You know the scariest part about this, people? When you see a wrong, you KNOW it’s wrong, and nobody says jack shit because the person doing that wrong it is the top of his profession, so we write it off with, “Oh, that was a little cheat to get more weight on the bar”. We wrote it off with, “He’s a huge fella, those lower lumbars are strong as fuck so they MUST be able to handle a little cheat”. We all keep our mouths shut, or fingers away from keyboards, for fear of ridicule from fellow fans, such is RC’s authority. Or was.
Because it turns out the cheat wasn’t so little after all, whether in terms of repetitivity, weight/spinal-strength ratio.
Yes, he did it to himself, yes he has gotten too damn carried away, no he’s no Rich Piana but I’m sorry, I have to wonder, if more of us had spoken up, if an otherwise smart fella like Ronnie would have wised up earlier.
I have a lump in my throat thinking about RC in a frickken WHEELCHAIR. I am a man whose parents both spent time in one. When I think about all the guys who have died in the last 10 years, I am heartbroken for our sport, which was all about looking healthy when I first picked up a dumbbell SOOOOO long ago in the 80’s, and now is little more than a freakshow.
I just got diagnosed, provisionally, with a partially torn Supra, either caused or aggravated by impingement. After years of crappy advice in magazines and then the internet, I’m happy that’s the worst (that I know about) that’s wrong with me. I had the good sense all these years to progress CONSERVATIVELY.
Guys, I’m sorry for venting. But I LOVE this cosa nostra. I remember the old pictures of Steve Reeves, how he was ogled fondly by women, then moved to the 80’s, when Vic Richards, of course MUCH bigger, was idolised by guys. A decade later, girls would swoon over the US + UK Gladiators. You see the progression; I was looking forward, at this time of my life, to a time when science had progressed so far, the 400lbs bodybuilder would be viewed as APPEARING completely natty, and diagnosed without significant health issues. I want to look at the magnificent Morgan Aste, and feel CONFIDENT he’ll get to 85, as most of his long-lived French compatriots do.
I hope this all is a low point for This Thing of Ours. I hope Chemistry vaults forward in making PED’s as safe as breathing mountain air. 'Roid users, I’m not picking a fight with you, so please don’t assume this is an invitation to step outside. I’m looking FORWARD to a day when bodybuilding is prescribed by the medical profession in particular, and the wider community in general, as a means to enhance health.
I wish Ronnie a speedy, and full recovery.