BEVERLY HILLS, December 21, (THEWILL) – At the event on Sunday to crown the BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year, Mercedes Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton emerged winner of the prestigious prize to cap what has been a memorable year on a personal level after he won a record-equaling seventh title.
In November when he won the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, the first and only Black racer in the 70-year history of the Grand Prix broke the record for the most wins in Formula One racing history.
This year, however, has seen a crop of sports personalities come into the space of advocacy where they have amplified causes and campaigns with their voices in solidarity with others in a wide variety of issues. This fact appeared to have been as important to voters for the Sports Personality of the Year in 2020 as the exploits of these highly rated sports stars.
Hamilton himself was candid about this in his comments on being considered for the prize. His unflagging advocacy for the Black Lives Matter movement which saw him promote the aims of the movement like the pursuit of justice for Breonna Taylor, who was brutally shot and killed by police at her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13, was just as important to him as his record-winning races.
When Nigerians, at home and around the world, were demonstrating for weeks against a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which they and rights groups have for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders, Hamilton donned a T-shirt supporting the cause of the protesters for a pre-race television interview at the Portuguese Grand Prix in October.
“I’ve got to show this,” Hamilton, told Sky Sports then as he revealed a green T-shirt with #EndSARS written on it at the end of the off-grid interview.
In a Twitter post that same day, he shared an image of himself with the T-Shirt and this message:
“We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves and raise awareness of the tragedies happening in the world around us and take action where we can. The recent events in Nigeria are a human rights crisis. Hit the link to find out more #EndSARS …” as he included a link to a page that provided now information on the very pertinent Nigerian issue.
“I feel like I’ve really found my compass this year,” the 35-year-old admitted after he was announced as winner, in reference to the different ways he applied himself within and outside the sport.
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“I feel like there’s this huge amount of work to do in so many areas. And this is really probably one of the first years I felt like I’ve had something different driving me at the core, pushing for diversity within our industry, using my voice for something far bigger than myself.”
Hamilton showed a sense of understanding of the issues at stake for him and those in unequal brackets.
“Our sport, it shouldn’t be a matter of where you come from. We’ve really got to fight for gender equality. It shouldn’t matter what your socio-economic background is or your religion.
“We’ve got to work together collectively and that’s really why I put the Hamilton Commission together, to try to find out really what the barriers are, break those down – it does go down to education.
“There are so many jobs within this industry. And it’s not about seeing the next ‘me’ come through particularly, it’s really about creating opportunities, equal opportunities, and (to be) reflective of the outside world.”
This pursuit of a higher calling than simply excelling in the sport of one’s choosing was reflected in another award at the event. Manchester United’s star Marcus Rashford picked was given the Panel Special Award for his relentless campaigning to end child food poverty.
Applying every ounce of star power at his disposal, Rashford has gone above and beyond this year, in his bid to see the government feed hungry children in the UK. The award recognised his impact outside of sport to give poor children full bellies during the holidays as he rallied individuals, stores, bodies and the government to provide for the kids.
“It was more difficult for me to do the basic things like getting to training, eat the right things, it was a nightmare of a situation to be in, but in the end I got to where I needed to get to.
“Once I got there, I just had this thing that eats at me saying, ‘Make sure you make a difference for the next generation’.
“I think as a country we should protect them as much as we can and give them the best chance at life and to become whatever it is they want to become.”
These two superstars have shown what this year truly captures in its essence. That to make the world a better place, individuals who have the platform and the voice to draw attention must look beyond the personal and embrace the pursuit of causes that may lie outside their spaces of excellence and amplify the voices of the movements that seek for change in areas they identify with so that together in solidarity, a difference can be made in the world.
And it appears voters were aware enough to reward them for the largeness of their hearts and the spirit of their advocacy.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
