When the BBC announced their shortlist for Sports Personality of the year, one nominee in particular attracted some criticism from LGBT groups.
World Boxing Federation Champion Tyson Fury’s inclusion on the list has angered many considering the homophobic remarks he has made on record.
Fury had told the Mail on Sunday that there were three things that he was vehemently against: ‘One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other is paedophilia. Who would have thought in the 50s and 60s that those first two would be legalised?’
A Change.org petition has been set up by LGBT equality worker Scott Cuthbertson and has quickly gathered over 30,000 signatures in just three days. He wrote:
‘Homophobia has long been a barrier to the participation of LGBTI people in Sport. Young people need sports personalities that they can look up to not people who express outrageous homophobic views, which can cause bullying and self-harm.’
Cuthbertson argues that Fury’s hateful remarks are setting back any progress made in recent years regarding homophobia in the sporting world.
