Sports ‘personality’, Hamilton? Er…no

I know it offends the chattering classes but once again the BBC Sports Personality of the Year was a top notch celebration of (mainly) British sport.

Excellent to see the smaller sports recognised and even better the greater representation of women and the unsung heroes. Almost nothing about the overblown, overrated and overpaid Premier League but a lengthy celebration of a wonderful woman who teaches disabled people to swim. How moving was that?

It doesn’t get everything right of course, especially when the Great British Public gets involved and votes en masse for a tax dodging racing driver who waves the union jack with pride but proves he doesn’t mean it by living in Monaco. Just remember, folks, that because of people like Lewis Hamilton people on rubbish wages like, er, me pay more tax. And don’t give me all that shit about, ‘Well, what would you do if you were Hamilton?’ to which the answer is: I’d live in the greatest country on earth and pay a little extra to help those disabled children learn to swim. But that’s not Lewis. He talks, with apparent sincerity, about how his dad took on four jobs in order to keep him carting but he forgets to mention that now he is a rich man beyond the dreams even than your average millionaire he doesn’t give a toss.

For all I know, Hamilton may be a generous benefactor and make donations to charity, but that’s not the point. I have no choice but to pay tax and I don’t begrudge it one bit, well, at least when it comes to the money that goes to things other than buying bombs to kill people, to name but one bad cause.

I don’t begrudge people getting rich by virtue of hard work and sacrifice but for some reason I have this old fashioned concept of giving something back. Hamilton, by living in Monaco, deliberately avoids helping others.

You can argue that “they’re all at it” and many of them are, but I am not letting Hamilton off the hook just for that reason. A civilised society costs money and you’re pretty uncivilised if you make the choice to avoid helping others.

And the other reason Hamilton shouldn’t have won: he has no personality to speak of. He’s dull and boring, just like Nigel Mansell and just about every other racing driver that ever lived, apart from Senna.