Many would contend that the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award has long become a meaningless accolade but it still holds a certain caché for anyone lucky enough to win it. The merits and drawbacks of the award have been debated for quite some time now and the latest criticism that's being put to the BBC surrounds one Tyson Fury.
Controversy over the world heavyweight champion's views on homosexuality shows no signs of slowing down and the SPOTY nominations have served to light another fire under things.
In two days, a petition on change.org has been signed by over 30,000 people calling on the BBC to remove Fury from the nominations as a result of his views on homosexuality.
In recent days, the Daily Mail's Oliver Holt has been front and centre in the debate following threats from Fury and suggestions that he had been misquoted during the original interview. The Mail have since published the audio from the interview to strongly refute those suggestions but regardless of Fury's opinions on homosexuality, the BBC have said that they will not be removing him from the SPOTY nominations.
The British state broadcaster have since released a statement and they are clear that the award is decided upon through sporting achievement alone.
The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year are decided on their sporting achievements. As Fury became heavyweight champion of the world over the weekend, the panel feel that he should be a contender for this year’s award.
Although it appears to be unnecessary given the BBC's stance, a counter petition has also been launched to ensure Fury remains on the nominations list.
