It was noted when BMI came out that their formula would have declared Shaquille O’Neill, during his playing career with the Lakers, as “morbidly obese”.
I reject “one size fits all medicine”, particularly that foisted upon us by government-run health organizations. The whole COVID debacle is proof that they often don’t know what they’re talking about.
The modern term BMI was coined in a 1972 paper, the same year Shaquille O’Neal was born.
And yes, for athletes who build significant muscle mass, it’s not an accurate gauge. For the general public, which has very little muscle, it actually works pretty well as a short-hand.