# 2015 Sportsman of the Year **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 2, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420 "2015-11-02T14:57:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/61 "2015-12-15T19:51:47Z")
Is it really necessary to use the word “Sportsperson”? The second definition of “sportsman” is gender-neutral, as are similar words “ombudsman,” “draftsman,” “congressman,” etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/62 "2015-12-15T22:04:17Z")
Perhaps worth noting: at the Olympics, the medals for the equestrian events are given not to the horse but to the rider… ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/63 "2015-12-15T22:15:23Z")
By way of analogy… Time has named the computer and the planet Earth as “man of the year,” so a horse as “Sportsman” of the year isn’t so outlandish. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/64 "2015-12-16T19:23:08Z")
Different magazine, though. Of course, the point of Time’s “Person of the Year” thing is to speak to the nature of the times. They’re trying to make a pick that best illustrates what they think represents the momentum of change in the human experience of the moment. The choice of “The Computer” was, IMHO, kind of stupid, and sort of illustrated that the people doing the picking didn’t actually know much about computers, but I can see their point in that even in 1982 it was becoming apparent to a reasonably aware person that computers were going to be in every household and a part of our lives. American Pharoah accomplished something that, let’s be honest, it’s nearly as important now as it was when Secretariat did it. I have nothing about horse racing but as a sport it is falling like a rock. I’ll grant tennis isn’t as the peak of its popularity either, but it’s still a pretty big ticket item and doesn’t compare at all to the fall of horse racing. So if we’re to compare this to the Time award, SI in giving it to a horse would be doing the opposite of what Time was doing in giving it to a computer or the Earth; rather than acknowledging a new social phenomenon or movement, they’d be waving goodbye at a declining one. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/65 "2015-12-16T19:52:41Z")
How do those of you who dislike Serena’s cover feel about this current ESPN Magazine cover with [Ronda Rousey](https://twitter.com/espn/status/673898672023805952)? I don’t ask as a gotcha or anything. I’m just curious. Ignoring the difference in the significance of both issues, since of course more people will care about SI’s SOY over whatever the hell ESPN is going for, I think both covers are fairly similar in some respects. If Ronda Rousey didn’t get KTFO, “won” the SOY, and SI used that cover to showcase her, would you feel any differently about it compared to Serena’s? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/66 "2015-12-16T20:47:42Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > I respectfully disagree. > > Horses can be - and are - athletes. So are the Iditarod dogs. > > If you object because horses aren’t human, fine. But to say they aren’t real athletes is silly; they run races that are absolutely athletic, in every single way. > > I don’t think we’ll ever agree on this issue, so that’s the last I will say on the subject. …its confusing enough that the “2015 Sportsman of the Year” is actually the “2015 Sports Illustrated American Sportsperson of the Year”. But the “2015 Sports Illustrated American Sportsperson/animal/thing of the Year” is probably a bridge too far. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/67 "2015-12-16T21:14:28Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …its confusing enough that the “2015 Sportsman of the Year” is actually the “2015 Sports Illustrated American Sportsperson of the Year”. But the “2015 Sports Illustrated American Sportsperson/animal/thing of the Year” is probably a bridge too far. They should go with “Athlete Of The Year” and avoid all of these problems. It probably doesn’t matter, since the last three Triple Crown winners before American Pharoah, including Secretariat, also failed to win SportsWhatever Of The Year (although Affirmed’s jockey, Steve Cauthen, was named Sportsman Of The Year in 1978, the year Affirmed won the Triple Crown.) It’s obvious that they have some guys making the decision that agree with some of the posters here (that a horse shouldn’t win) and they just aren’t ever going to give it to a horse. If that’s the case, they should just declare animals ineligible from the beginning so the issue becomes moot. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/68 "2015-12-17T02:20:46Z")
> [@markdash](#): > > Is it really necessary to use the word “Sportsperson”? The second definition of “sportsman” is gender-neutral, as are similar words “ombudsman,” “draftsman,” “congressman,” etc. I’d find it less obnoxious (than sportsperson) if they just used “sportswoman”. Actually that wouldn’t be obnoxious at all. When it’s a man use sportsman, when it’s a woman use sportswoman, “sportsperson” is just grating and unwieldy. Might as well just say “athlete” instead if for some reason you can’t bring yourself to change the term based on who wins for that year. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/69 "2015-12-17T03:35:10Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > They should go with “Athlete Of The Year” and avoid all of these problems. I think the reason they don’t is, it would imply that the award was based solely on athletic skill. Also, some coaches have won. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/70 "2015-12-17T03:37:04Z")
The term “athlete” is not quite accurate as the award has been given several times to people who were not athletes, or at least did not win for being an athlete: mostly coaches like Joe Paterno and Pat Summitt, but also Pete Rozelle won one year. (No, I didn’t know this off the top of my head: I looked it up.) And several athletes have won not so much for their on-field success as for their humanitarian work. FWIW, I have no trouble with the word “sportsperson.” ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/71 "2015-12-17T03:38:45Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I think the reason they don’t is, it would imply that the award was based solely on athletic skill. > > Also, some coaches have won. “Carbon-based Lifeform Of The Year”. Unless we find silicon-based aliens out there. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420/72 "2015-12-17T05:13:46Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Which anybody would have known if they read the linked article… :rolleyes: Yeah, but I didn’t read the whole article. You got a problem with that? :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2015-sportsman-of-the-year/736420.md?page=3)