$170,000,000 worth Rory McIlroy bizarrely skips BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony

Rory McIlroy was one of the six nominees for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award following his triumph at the Ryder Cup and Scottish Open.

$170,000,000 worth Rory McIlroy bizarrely skips BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony

Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

Following a strange development recently, the name of Rory McIlroy has started trending again. The North Irish golfer bizarrely skipped the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony despite being a contender.

The 34-year-old was one of the six nominees for this award this year. While he did not win it, he even refused to speak regarding it, becoming the only nominee this year to do so.

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This action from him has surprised several fans. While the reason for his absence remains unclear, he was spotted in England this past week. He along with Tyrrell Hatton was spotted at Anfield in Liverpool to catch his beloved Manchester United play against Liverpool this past Sunday.

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The BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 took place at MediaCity in Salford. This was around a 40-minute drive away from Liverpool where McIlroy was. A potential reason for this could be the performance of golf in the BBC SPOTY ceremony. In the 70-year history of this event, only two golfers, Dai Rees (1957) and Sir Nick Faldo (1989) have won this award before.

Piers Morgan strangely complains why Mary Earps won this award ahead of other stars

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is a prestigious award given to a British athlete or an athlete who has spent a huge amount of time playing in the United Kingdom. This award is given to the athlete to honor their achievements that year. This year, England goalkeeper Mary Earps collected this honor. Piers Morgan though has now strangely complained why she won this over other male athletes.

Piers Morgan and Mary Earps
Piers Morgan (L) and Mary Earps (R) [Image via The Guardian/The Mirror]

Earps won this award for her contributions towards her national (England) and club side (Manchester United). She ended up as runner-up in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as Spain defeated England 1-0. She also won the Golden Glove award for the best keeper at the tournament.

As Earps emerged as the winner, Morgan took to his X account and raised a strange complaint. The 58-year-old questioned why stars like McIlroy, Frank Dettori and Ronnie O’Sullivan had never won this award despite their achievements compared to Earps and 2022 winner Beth Mead.

Since this tweet from Morgan went viral, there have been mixed reactions to it. While some have supported Earps and slammed Morgan for trying to belittle her, some have agreed with him and raised their voice against the choice of winner. It is likely that the debate regarding this award will continue in the upcoming days.

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