{"id":83408,"date":"2023-12-20T17:51:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/posterboyedit.com\/?p=83408"},"modified":"2023-12-20T17:51:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:51:31","slug":"united-star-mary-earps-will-continue-her-efforts-to-fight-for-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/posterboyedit.com\/lifestyle\/united-star-mary-earps-will-continue-her-efforts-to-fight-for-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"United star Mary Earps will continue her efforts to fight for equality"},"content":{"rendered":"
Lionesses star Mary Earps insists she will continue her efforts to fight for equality away from the pitch after being named BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2023 on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Earps, 30, became the 70th winner of the historic award, topping the public vote ahead of former England cricketer Stuart Broad and world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.<\/p>\n
The goalkeeper played a pivotal role in England\u2019s run to the World Cup final last summer, saving a penalty in their narrow 1-0 defeat against Spain and returning home with the Golden Glove.<\/p>\n
Earps also finished fifth in the women’s Ballon d’Or award – the highest ever placing for a goalkeeper – and kept a record 14 clean sheets for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League last season.<\/p>\n
But Earps also grabbed headlines away from the pitch during the World Cup following her public battle with kit manufacturer Nike, who opted not to put replicas of her goalkeeper shirt on sale to the public.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mary Earps was named the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year on Tuesday night<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The England goalkeeper picked up the Golden Glove at the World Cup over the summer<\/p>\n
Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n
Earps eventually forced Nike into a U-turn over that decision and hopes it has set a precedent for years to come.<\/p>\n
‘There\u2019s two parts to me,\u2019 said Earps. \u2018I\u2019m a very hungry athlete and I want to win every trophy and I don\u2019t want to stop until I have a full cabinet. If I\u2019ve won them all, I want to win them all again.<\/p>\n
\u2018But there\u2019s also the part of me that has been to a different place in my life where I didn\u2019t have that level of success and you realise life is a lot bigger than that. Football and sport are vehicles for change.<\/p>\n
\u2018We can change the world by using our voices, having strong values and doing the right things. I believe in that so whatever I do, I try to have integrity and leave a lasting legacy for many years to come.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s been a work in progress with all of our voices and the public have got behind me. Now it\u2019s a conversation of \u201cOK, how many [shirts]?\u201d and that\u2019s a very different conversation to what it was before.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019ve had that commitment from Nike that it will never happen again. Hopefully other sports brands will follow suit.\u2019<\/p>\n
Earps’ success secured back-to-back victories in the main award for the Lionesses following team-mate Beth Mead\u2019s win in 2022.<\/p>\n
It also caps a remarkable rise for the goalkeeper, who found herself out in the cold with the Three Lions only three years ago but has since cemented herself as a key member of Sarina Wiegman’s England side.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Earps iterated that her career in football can be used as a vehicle for change, and spoke of leaving behind a ‘lasting legacy’<\/p>\n
\u2018I made my peace with the fact I would never be an England player again,\u2019 Earps admitted. \u2018That was where it was for me. It took a while for me to come to terms with that. It\u2019s a hard pill to swallow when it\u2019s all you\u2019ve ever dreamed of.<\/p>\n
\u2018Sometimes you give it your all and you\u2019re just not quite good enough but luckily Sarina Wiegman came in and saw things in me that I didn\u2019t see in myself.<\/p>\n
\u2018She saw opportunities for me to go out there as England\u2019s number one. I\u2019m just so glad she gave me a chance.’<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Earps refused to entertain speculation over her club future with her contract at United set to expire next summer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Manchester United stopper had been linked with a move to WSL rivals Arsenal last summer<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, with a show every Monday and Thursday this season.<\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n Reports earlier this season that suggested Earps was looking for a move away from the club but she was keen to keep her cards close to her chest when pressed on the matter last night.<\/p>\n ‘It\u2019s a great question,’ said Earps. ‘I don\u2019t really want to talk too much about it tonight because I want to celebrate this win but what I will say is there is a lot of stuff that\u2019s been put out there that isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n ‘I\u2019ve remained quiet for a reason. I feel I\u2019ve behaved really professionally and with a lot of integrity throughout this whole situation. What I will say is that I play with heart and passion in everything I do and I drive standards.<\/p>\n ‘I want to say more but I can\u2019t at this stage and it\u2019s really hard for me to sit quiet when I see a lot of things that are not right. I think it\u2019s an injustice but I know the appropriate thing to do is focus on my football and see what happens from there.’<\/p>\n