Opinion

Tyson Fury should keep his outdated views to himself

Tyson Fury has remained defiant amid calls for his removal from the SPOTY shortlist. Picture by AP Photo/Martin Meissner
Tyson Fury has remained defiant amid calls for his removal from the SPOTY shortlist. Picture by AP Photo/Martin Meissner Tyson Fury has remained defiant amid calls for his removal from the SPOTY shortlist. Picture by AP Photo/Martin Meissner

If a week is a long time in politics, then it's an ice age in sport. Within days, Tyson Fury has gone from being crowned heavyweight champion of the world to prize idiot and pantomime villain, his views on women and gay people so bizarrely outdated they make anti-refugee loyalists seem comparatively reasonable.

After he beat Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts last month, Fury said: "I'm not sexist. I believe a woman's best place is in the kitchen and on her back. That’s my personal belief. Making me a good cup of tea, that's what I believe."

In an earlier interview Fury opined, even though no one asked him: "There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the devil comes home: one of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other one's paedophilia".

Setting aside the idea that saying "I'm not sexist" is a clear marker of someone who is, Fury seemed oddly confused between homosexuality and paedophilia, a confusion not lost on Ian Sawyer who made a complaint to Greater Manchester Police. Mr Sawyer, from Manchester, said: "I'm homosexual, I'm not a paedophile. Does Mr Fury know the difference?"

Greater Manchester Police have said 27-year-old Fury will face no action over his comments. But the row shows no sign of stopping, particularly since Fury is a late inclusion for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Although it should be pointed out that having a 'personality' is not normally a prerequisite for winning.

Fury himself has added: "Tyson Fury loves his fellow humans. He doesn't hate anybody", proving once again that speaking about yourself in the third person is always a bad sign.

Boxing is not a sport for the slow-witted. A fast brain, as well as quick fists and feet, are needed if you want to be world champion. Admittedly the sport, like any other, has its fair share of stars who have seemingly no filter between their thoughts and what comes out of their mouths.

Take Fury's namesake Mike Tyson, who went from being undisputed world heavyweight champion to convicted rapist, alcoholic and drug abuser, via a deeply unpleasant interview in which he went into great and misogynistic detail about then US presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Who can forget ex-England football star and former Rangers player Paul Gascoigne, who thought it would be a fine idea to pretend to play the flute during an Old Firm game in 1998? Then there's ex-Italy and Lazio player Paolo Di Canio, who gave a fascist salute at a game against Livorno in 2005 and later wrote in his autobiography that fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was "basically a very principled, ethical individual" who was "deeply misunderstood". Never mind all those killings, at least he made the trains run on time, eh Paolo?

Few sports stars are true role models. Those that are, including Irish Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor, who had to wait for years before women's boxing was fully accepted, are the exception rather than the rule. When the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) suggested female competitors should wear skirts instead of shorts, the 29-year-old calmly refused. And when fellow boxer Billy Joe Saunders claimed that women were only fit for "cleaning, cooking, washing, and sex", she responded: "I feel sorry for his wife and daughter if that’s his only view of women".

The trouble is that we venerate sports stars who, although excellent at punching opponents and kicking balls, hold some unpalatable views. Since the growth of sport-as-entertainment, sports stars have had a grip on popular culture. Once, Sports Personality of the Year was a 45-minute programme held in a London hotel. Now it’s a two-hour 'event', hosted this year in Belfast's SSE Arena. The sportswomen and men involved are not focused on giving witty sound bites or even appearing interesting. They are only there due to a laser-like dedication to their chosen sport - a dedication which doesn't prepare them for being quizzed by Gary Lineker in front of a large audience.

If Tyson Fury were not world champion, his odd views would be quickly dismissed. Except he is world champion. And later this month he will appear before millions of viewers, some of whom will be expecting him to make a few more gaffes.

Maybe then he will realise that as the adage goes: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt".