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20th December 2023
08:37am GMT
Piers Morgan has been slammed after he questioned Mary Earps' Sports Personality victory over "male sporting superstars."
On Tuesday evening, Earps was voted the winner of the prestigious award by the public, with former England cricketer finishing second and world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson finishing third.
It marked the end of a remarkable year for the England shot-stopper, who won the World Cup Golden Glove this summer - saving a penalty in the final - won the WSL Golden Glove for the 2022-23 season and was named the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper in February.
It was the second year in a row that a Lioness had won the award, after Beth Mead was crowned the winner last year - and this didn't please Piers Morgan.
He questioned how Mead and Earps had won the award ahead of "male sporting superstars with great personalities."
Taking to X, the TalkTV presenter wrote: "Trying to get my head around two of England’s women footballers winning BBC SPOTY in successive years… while male sporting superstars with great personalities like Rory McIlroy, Frankie Dettori & Ronnie O’Sullivan have never won it."
Many were quick to point out to the former Britain's Got Talent judge that the award had been voted for by the public, and that love and respect for the England women's team was at an all-time high.
One person commented: "Sports Personality of the Year often reflects public sentiment, and success in women's football can capture the nation's attention. While individual achievements in other sports may be impressive, the popularity and impact of women's football should not be overlooked."
A second wrote: "Basically what happened was one year beth mead was voted by the public as winner and then the following year mary earps was voted by the public as winner."
Another said: "Because for many successive years, men have won it, the Lionesses won the Euros, and got to the world Cup final, these Lionesses have really shown young girls that they too, can have a place in football and succeed, super role models too. The public spoke..."
Someone else pointed out that McIlroy and Dettori had been nominated this year and O'Sullivan was up for the prize last year, but that the public had still decided to vote for Earps and Mead.
They wrote: "Well who were Rory McIlroy, Frankie Dettori & Ronnie O’Sullivan up against the years they were nominated but failed to win? I think you're being disingenuous."
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