Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
Didn’t know you was so rough mate, hope you’re feeling better now.
To be fair, no one forced him to watch the World Cup.
The bit where the BBC got wrong a long time ago with this award was to turn a review of the year programme with funnies and an award at the end into the nonsense they have been turning out since they moved it to areans.
And as @clive link shows the audience they did have, just like a Question of Sport have voted with their remotes
I agree with this. However, the change from a review of the year format was occasioned by the BBC running out of footage as Sky took over. As a child my family would watch this show together and it would signal that Christmas was upon us. I haven’t watched it now for about a decade. Giggs winning it finished me off and I just can’t abide the puerile set pieces any more. It’s become BBC sanctimony at its worst. Fair play to Mary Earps though in the overall run of things.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
So many fragile little men on here, well done MEarps, well deserved.
Its been a bit of a lean year but well done to her she has excelled in her sport. There's always going to be blokey comments unfortunately when it comes to the women's game. I don't think she would taken the award in an Olympic year or most other years, though I did think Katarina Johnson-Thompson might of been in with a good chance and perhaps she would have won it if she had got gold at the Olympics rather than "just a gold" at the worlds. I think we should really treat SPOTY as a bit of fun and don't take too seriously, its a bit of telly with a vote from the viewing public on a Tuesday night. And maybe past its sell by date.
Agreed. The World Championship doesn't attract the same public interest as the Olympics, the viewing figures would have been much lower. And it's not as if it was her first WC or even a personal best.
Fatima Whitbread was BBC Sports personality of the year back in 1987 after winning her second gold medal (First back in Helsinki- 1983) in the World Championships in Rome that year
Different times, to have an athlete that was competing and winning back then was quite something. And Fatima was a personality and appeared on tv a lot more than just for throwing the javelin. I can't remember her name but I seem to remember a Finish woman was her main rival. We had the odd exceptional athlete that would come through but nothing like we have had since the funding was ramped up and the Eastern block countries stopped cheating their way.
Fatima's backstory makes her achievements even more sensational.
Abandoned by her biological mother in her flat at three months old, Fatima says she was “left to die”. “A neighbour heard the cries of a baby, but they didn’t see anyone come or go for a few days. The neighbour called the police who came and broke the door down to rescue her.
She then spent the next four months in hospital being treated for malnutrition, before being put into care. Fatima spent 14 years in children's homes before being 'rescued' by the Whitbread family. Fatima filled in some of her personal details on the James O'Brein show a couple of days ago and it was heart rending stuff.
I had no idea about that at the time, did the people who voted for her? I knew she was adopted, but that's about all. I mostly recall people (mainly "blokes") commenting on her appearance and speculating about her sexuality.
I was delighted that she won, nonetheless. The only person I can think of off the top of my head that I didn't think deserved it was Ryan Giggs, but that was more because of the manner in which all the plastic Manure fans manipulated the vote than anything personal.
Can I suggest that all the people who think that SPOTY has run it's course just don't watch or comment next year? It's only a couple of hours out of 8784 available next year...
Don't comment because you don't like their opinion or don't comment for another reason?
At least this thread is half way there as in it's sports related on a football forum. 70% of the of the threads have nothing to do with Charlton. We have more RIP threads than the Telegraph has obituaries.
Don't watch and don't comment. We get told that on threads about shit I don't like, and in my defence since it was mentioned I have abided by it.
So many fragile little men on here, well done MEarps, well deserved.
Its been a bit of a lean year but well done to her she has excelled in her sport. There's always going to be blokey comments unfortunately when it comes to the women's game. I don't think she would taken the award in an Olympic year or most other years, though I did think Katarina Johnson-Thompson might of been in with a good chance and perhaps she would have won it if she had got gold at the Olympics rather than "just a gold" at the worlds. I think we should really treat SPOTY as a bit of fun and don't take too seriously, its a bit of telly with a vote from the viewing public on a Tuesday night. And maybe past its sell by date.
Agreed. The World Championship doesn't attract the same public interest as the Olympics, the viewing figures would have been much lower. And it's not as if it was her first WC or even a personal best.
Fatima Whitbread was BBC Sports personality of the year back in 1987 after winning her second gold medal (First back in Helsinki- 1983) in the World Championships in Rome that year
Different times, to have an athlete that was competing and winning back then was quite something. And Fatima was a personality and appeared on tv a lot more than just for throwing the javelin. I can't remember her name but I seem to remember a Finish woman was her main rival. We had the odd exceptional athlete that would come through but nothing like we have had since the funding was ramped up and the Eastern block countries stopped cheating their way.
Fatima's backstory makes her achievements even more sensational.
Abandoned by her biological mother in her flat at three months old, Fatima says she was “left to die”. “A neighbour heard the cries of a baby, but they didn’t see anyone come or go for a few days. The neighbour called the police who came and broke the door down to rescue her.
She then spent the next four months in hospital being treated for malnutrition, before being put into care. Fatima spent 14 years in children's homes before being 'rescued' by the Whitbread family. Fatima filled in some of her personal details on the James O'Brein show a couple of days ago and it was heart rending stuff.
Further to this: the James O'Brein podcast featuring Fatima is out now and is really worth a listen.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
I'm not digging you out Sam because I genuinely don't give a toss beyond finding it funny, but it is a comical situation when some have been accused of being sexist because they can't name a female footballer yet someone else can comment on female players hair colour (I suspect deliberately). Not since the days of Nicky Bailey has a male players hair colour been a thing.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
I put it down to my Covid being at it's worst on Tuesday.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
I put it down to my Covid being at it's worst on Tuesday.
No worries Covered end. You have just had a Prostatectomy and now are getting over COVID and you are still a George Dobson quality consistent poster.
You will bounce back in 2024 but give yourself time after the double whammy.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
I'm not digging you out Sam because I genuinely don't give a toss beyond finding it funny, but it is a comical situation when some have been accused of being sexist because they can't name a female footballer yet someone else can comment on female players hair colour (I suspect deliberately). Not since the days of Nicky Bailey has a male players hair colour been a thing.
If anyone thinks saying what colour a female's hair colour is, comes under the sexist label; great timing there's a Pantene hair colour advert on the TV, then we are in trouble. My daughter is 28 years old, lives at home, when not on tour, while working in show business, and she can get a job or not depending if they want a Blonde, Brunette, Redhead or Ginger so I have been used to describing women by their hair colour. She is a 5ft 6in Brunette with long Hair and is a fitness fantastic as its her career and has modelled for many of the major sports brands. Also skin colour as anyone will notice if they watch adverts on TV over the last two years, which has become more diverse.
Not knowing a female player's name isn't sexist, it just means that you are forgetful if you have seen that keeper play in many games and she is the England number 1.
If you have watched the female game and think it poor then I find that funny as you are supposed to be Charlton fans. 😀
I genuinely like watching elite women sport for all the right reasons and have defended it like a commited feminist ! but being a straight male, a female can catch my eye whether it's Lauren Bell (pace bowler)or Maria Sharapova( ex tennis player) Both are 6ft blondes; there's a pattern emerging 🤦🏻♂️
I see that Ciara McGeean was named Northern Ireland SPOTY.
Never heard of her.
Most in the UK don’t even know Northern Ireland. Don't beat yourself up over it.
Nice one KB 👍 Ciara Mcgeean is a fantastic 1500m runner who gets better with age and came 4th in the World Champs in Budapest behind the amazing Kipyegon and Hassan. Ciara has silver medals in the Commonwealth and Europe. I didn't realize she was 31 as all her top races have been in the last two years.
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
I watch women's athletics, women's tennis, women's boxing, women's volleyball, women's swimming, women's skating, women's skiing, I support Fallon Sherrock in the darts, watched England's women in the World Cup. I did mention that I also have Covid, but nope I'm not believable.
I possibly watch more women's sport than the vast majority on CL. Could the self righteous tell me how much more women's sport I need to watch to not be called unbelieved?
Anyway, as Cher's mother once said to her, if it doesn't matter in 5 years time it doesn't matter.
Then it’s semantics over what constitutes a fan which is even sillier. As you say, it won’t matter soon enough anyway. People will have forgotten by next week, let alone five years from now.
Agreed, pages of utter silliness because I forget a player's name whilst suffering with Covid and having watched England's World Cup Games 2 weeks after prostate removal and in between hospital visits.
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC. The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
I'm not digging you out Sam because I genuinely don't give a toss beyond finding it funny, but it is a comical situation when some have been accused of being sexist because they can't name a female footballer yet someone else can comment on female players hair colour (I suspect deliberately). Not since the days of Nicky Bailey has a male players hair colour been a thing.
If anyone thinks saying what colour a female's hair colour is, comes under the sexist label; great timing there's a Pantene hair colour advert on the TV, then we are in trouble. My daughter is 28 years old, lives at home, when not on tour, while working in show business, and she can get a job or not depending if they want a Blonde, Brunette, Redhead or Ginger so I have been used to describing women by their hair colour. She is a 5ft 6in Brunette with long Hair and is a fitness fantastic as its her career and has modelled for many of the major sports brands. Also skin colour as anyone will notice if they watch adverts on TV over the last two years, which has become more diverse.
Not knowing a female player's name isn't sexist, it just means that you are forgetful if you have seen that keeper play in many games and she is the England number 1.
If you have watched the female game and think it poor then I find that funny as you are supposed to be Charlton fans. 😀
I genuinely like watching elite women sport for all the right reasons and have defended it like a commited feminist ! but being a straight male, a female can catch my eye whether it's Lauren Bell (pace bowler)or Maria Sharapova( ex tennis player) Both are 6ft blondes; there's a pattern emerging 🤦🏻♂️
“Don’t compare mens and women’s football…”
”If you have watched the female game and think it poor then I find that funny as you are supposed to be Charlton fans…”
Mary Earps deserved to win because she got the most votes.
The last 4 pages of kerfuffle could've been avoided if CE had said he was a big fan of "adult male sport" rather than just sport - which btw is fine, if that's your preference you're not a sexist or any of that silliness.
I don't find it that believable that you'd be a big fan of English sport in general (football specifically) and not be aware of who the national goalkeeper is for the women's team.
Maybe the voters were lied to. I think the vote should be re-run. Anyway, weren't they just indicative votes? They weren't binding and the BBC should just have ignored them ...
and they no longer announce the voting numbers since 2018, why not? should be upfront and clear. I bet its because the numbers are so low.
What ever happened to, i've never heard of them... Oh i know, i'll google
Because it's not a matter of wanting to find out about who 'they' are. People complain that they do not know who the nominees are because they are using their own experience to make sense of what's going on in the world. It therefore jars in their mind if someone is nominated for, or wins, a public vote that they have not heard of.
On the face of it, it is not unreasonable to expect that the SPOTY award will go to a person with a household name. After all, if they're that good surely everyone will know about them. That's what always used to happen in the past. But times have changed.
There used to be a limited amount of sport on tv, and everyone would watch the same stuff. In fact, television generally used to be a public event. Everyone would watch the same programmes at the same time and would then talk about it at school or work the next day. It's not like that anymore. The 'mainstream' sports that were free-to-air in the past have, for the most part, been bought up by alternative providers who have sought to monetize them through subscriptions or pay per view schemes. The airtime on regular broadcast tv has largely been replaced with alternative offerings, much of it from the burgeoning worlds of women's and disability sports.
The result of this change is that most people don't have the time or energy to watch all of the sport that's available to them. People therefore discriminate over what they choose to follow. Some choose to watch women's or para sports, and that is absolutely fine. Some will choose to continue with the men's sports that they were traditionally offered. That is equally fine, and it doesn't make them sexist for making this choice. It does though present a problem for the credibility of SPOTY. Does the award have the same kudos as it did when everyone watched the same stuff? I'd say no. That's not a slight against Mary Earps or anyone else on the list of nominees. It's just a fact, if people haven’t heard of you they are less likely to be impressed by any awards you have won.
I don't know what the future for SPOTY is, but whatever the BBC do with it, it's unlikely to have the same importance as it once did. Maybe they should split the award in three or four, introducing separate men's women's and para awards to try and keep everyone happy. But there are already other awards and maybe splitting the main one would just fragment interest still further and dilute the value of winning. Maybe it should be allowed to die a natural death, after all nobody becomes a professional athlete because they want to win a popularity contest. To a person, they all do what they do because they want to prove themselves against their peers on a level playing field in the sport of their choosing. Not to come top of a list because an unspecified number of people voted for them. If their ambition is to win a popular phone vote, they can always go and eat bugs in the jungle.
Comments
I hope 2024 see an improvement in your health CE and when you said "who's Mary Earps" I knew you had either been on the juice or the drugs had taken their toll especially as you had said you had watched England's games in Euros and WC.
The woman's football had a big profile and was on front and back covers of newspapers; more so than badminton or rock climbing.
I have even got into watching woman's cricket in the last year and hopefully not just because Lauren Bell is a 22 year old, 6ft blond Amazon pace bowler with a lovely run up 🙄
https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrhdSm/
No worries Covered end.
You have just had a Prostatectomy and now are getting over COVID and you are still a George Dobson quality consistent poster.
You will bounce back in 2024 but give yourself time after the double whammy.
If anyone thinks saying what colour a female's hair colour is, comes under the sexist label; great timing there's a Pantene hair colour advert on the TV, then we are in trouble.
My daughter is 28 years old, lives at home, when not on tour, while working in show business, and she can get a job or not depending if they want a Blonde, Brunette, Redhead or Ginger so I have been used to describing women by their hair colour.
She is a 5ft 6in Brunette with long Hair and is a fitness fantastic as its her career and has modelled for many of the major sports brands.
Also skin colour as anyone will notice if they watch adverts on TV over the last two years, which has become more diverse.
Not knowing a female player's name isn't sexist, it just means that you are forgetful if you have seen that keeper play in many games and she is the England number 1.
If you have watched the female game and think it poor then I find that funny as you are supposed to be Charlton fans. 😀
I genuinely like watching elite women sport for all the right reasons and have defended it like a commited feminist ! but being a straight male, a female can catch my eye whether it's Lauren Bell (pace bowler)or Maria Sharapova( ex tennis player)
Both are 6ft blondes; there's a pattern emerging 🤦🏻♂️
Never heard of her.
Don't beat yourself up over it.
Nice one KB 👍
Ciara Mcgeean is a fantastic 1500m runner who gets better with age and came 4th in the World Champs in Budapest behind the amazing Kipyegon and Hassan.
Ciara has silver medals in the Commonwealth and Europe.
I didn't realize she was 31 as all her top races have been in the last two years.
”If you have watched the female game and think it poor then I find that funny as you are supposed to be Charlton fans…”
On the face of it, it is not unreasonable to expect that the SPOTY award will go to a person with a household name. After all, if they're that good surely everyone will know about them. That's what always used to happen in the past. But times have changed.
There used to be a limited amount of sport on tv, and everyone would watch the same stuff. In fact, television generally used to be a public event. Everyone would watch the same programmes at the same time and would then talk about it at school or work the next day. It's not like that anymore. The 'mainstream' sports that were free-to-air in the past have, for the most part, been bought up by alternative providers who have sought to monetize them through subscriptions or pay per view schemes. The airtime on regular broadcast tv has largely been replaced with alternative offerings, much of it from the burgeoning worlds of women's and disability sports.
The result of this change is that most people don't have the time or energy to watch all of the sport that's available to them. People therefore discriminate over what they choose to follow. Some choose to watch women's or para sports, and that is absolutely fine. Some will choose to continue with the men's sports that they were traditionally offered. That is equally fine, and it doesn't make them sexist for making this choice. It does though present a problem for the credibility of SPOTY. Does the award have the same kudos as it did when everyone watched the same stuff? I'd say no. That's not a slight against Mary Earps or anyone else on the list of nominees. It's just a fact, if people haven’t heard of you they are less likely to be impressed by any awards you have won.
I don't know what the future for SPOTY is, but whatever the BBC do with it, it's unlikely to have the same importance as it once did. Maybe they should split the award in three or four, introducing separate men's women's and para awards to try and keep everyone happy. But there are already other awards and maybe splitting the main one would just fragment interest still further and dilute the value of winning. Maybe it should be allowed to die a natural death, after all nobody becomes a professional athlete because they want to win a popularity contest. To a person, they all do what they do because they want to prove themselves against their peers on a level playing field in the sport of their choosing. Not to come top of a list because an unspecified number of people voted for them. If their ambition is to win a popular phone vote, they can always go and eat bugs in the jungle.