The reasons some people dont like him:
(Other than the fact that he represents a minority group who people generally consider a nuisance)
In 2013, Fury told an interviewer before his first fight at
Madison Square Garden that he would "hang" his own sister if she was promiscuous. That same year he was fined £3,000 for calling fellow boxers
David Priceand
Tony Bellew "gay lovers".
[159]
Shortly before winning the world titles in November 2015, Fury publicly argued that
performance-enhancing drugs (which he denied taking) should be permitted in boxing and other sports. He said: "Why don't they just make drugs totally legal in sports, then everybody would be taking drugs and then it would be fully fair then, wouldn't it? ... It's none of my concern really, but if the governing bodies want to do that then I think it would be a bit fairer because you've got all them people taking drugs and when you face a man who is not taking drugs it becomes unfair, doesn't it?"
[160]
After the world championship fight, he stated that he had been cautioned against potential cheating tactics by the Klitschko camp, of which he provided no evidence, and he would not even drink water in the locker room post-fight because of fears that he would be drugged.
[161] The
British Boxing Board of Control met on 9 December and agreed to summon Fury to explain his recent comments.
[162]
In May 2016 the Fury team released a training camp update video which included Fury voicing opposition to
transgender people and also to
bestiality and rape but suggested they might eventually be legalised, due to the increasing number of formerly taboo practises becoming accepted, and saying: "Everyone just do what you can, listen to the government follow everybody like sheep, be brainwashed by all the Zionist, Jewish people who own all the banks, all the papers all the TV stations. Be brainwashed by them all."
[163][164] Jonathan Sacerdoti of the
Campaign Against Antisemitism called for Fury to be barred from the sport after what he called his "offensive and racist" remarks. The group made a complaint to the British Boxing Board of Control.
[164][165] Responding on Twitter to the controversy, Fury wrote that "all the Zionist media outlets are on my back, because I speak the truth!" and
blamed Jews for killing Jesus.
[166]
Fury subsequently apologised, saying: "I apologise to anyone who may have taken offence at any of my comments. I said some things, which may have hurt some people, which as a Christian man is not something I would ever want to do. Though it is not an excuse, sometimes the heightened media scrutiny has caused me to act out in public. I mean no harm or disrespect to anyone and I know more is expected of me as an ambassador of British boxing and I promise in future to hold myself up to the highest possible standard. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am in no way a racist or bigot and I hope the public accept my apology."
[167]
2015 BBC SPotY award nomination
After winning the world titles he was nominated for the
Sports Personality of the Year shortlist, but attracted significant criticism in the media relating to statements he had made which his critics called "sexist and homophobic". His nomination ignited a lingering controversy which began even before the Klitschko fight, when Fury seemingly likened
homosexuality to
paedophilia when he said: "There are only three things that need to be accomplished before the Devil comes home. One of them is homosexuality being legal in countries, one of them is abortion and the other is paedophilia. So who would have thought in the 50s and early 60s that those first two would be legalised. … For me, people can say 'oh, you're against homosexuality, you're against abortions, you're against whatever' but my faith and my culture is all based on the
Bible. The Bible was written a long time ago, wasn't it, from the beginning of time until now so if I follow that and that tells me it's wrong, then it's wrong for me."
[168][169] Later, over 138,000 people signed an online petition on the American-website
Change.org, with the originator saying that what they saw as his "homophobic and sexist views" on societal
ethics made him an "unsuitable recipient" for the award.
[170] Asked directly if he was homophobic, Fury said: "No. Definitely not. I wouldn't be a very good Christian if I hated anybody. If Jesus loves the world, I love the world."
[171]
Fury also stated that Olympic and world champion heptathlete,
Jessica Ennis-Hill, a fellow contender for the BBC award, "slaps up good" and that she "looks quite fit in a dress."
[172] Fury responded to the controversy by denying he was homophobic and telling iFL TV that his critics could "suck my balls" – and labelled those who signed the petition as "50,000
wankers".
[173]
