Honours system

W HY did Bradley Wiggins receive a knighthood and Andy Murray an OBE? Now, I do not want to criticise Bradley as he is a great sportsman who has made his country proud but surely a knighthood was a bridge too far? What is going to happen if Wiggins wins the Giro and retains the Tour de France this year. Will he be made a Lord? Awarding Andy Murray an OBE was a correct decision because he is still playing and looks set to add more honours to his U.S. Open title and his Olympic gold medal. When he finally retires then perhaps he should deserve a knighthood especially if he wins Wimbledon. I just think that there is a sort of knee-jerk reaction about the New Year honours system. Wiggins, who is obviously hugely popular, gets a knighthood and makes the headlines. It also makes the rather outdated honours system look quite modern. But equally successful sportspeople walk away with lesser awards and it naturally causes some controversy. The knighthood is obviously the gold medal of honours so if you don´t become a knight then the award is really not worth having if you are a sportsperson. Perhaps the time has finally come to look at the honours system carefully and make some changes. Perhaps a new sporting honour could be introduced. One thing for sure I sincerely doubt that Wiggins will ever be made a lord so he has had its share of awards from the Queen which is a big shame.