Chris Kamara says 'chivalry is dead' after offering 'mature' lady a seat on the Tube - only to be rudely rebuffed

Football commentator Chris Kamara has pronounced ‘chivalry is dead’ after he was snubbed by a woman when he offered his seat on the Tube.

The Sky Sports veteran said his well-intentioned gesture fell flat, leaving him feeling ‘like a dinosaur’.

Kamara, known affectionately to fans as ‘Kammy’ and for his catchphrase of ‘unbelievable Jeff’ to co-host Jeff Stelling, was travelling from Heathrow to King’s Cross at the time of the incident.

Kamara, 66, revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that a ‘mature lady’ boarded the carriage and he offered her a chance to sit in his seat.

Instead, he says, she retorted: ‘Why would I need to?’

Football commentator Chris Kamara has pronounced ‘chivalry is dead’ after he was snubbed by a woman when he offered his seat on the Tube

Kamara wrote online: ‘I gave her a look of disdain. On reflection, I didn’t offer my seat to any blokes of a mature age. So my apologies. Chivalry is dead.

‘I have chewed on this since Tuesday night and realise I am still a dinosaur.

‘I’m sorry and accept that i was in the wrong and hopefully won’t do it again.’

Kamara, from Wakefield, proudly shows off his MBE medal at Windsor Castle last May

Despite Kammy’s modest self criticism, many users on X were quick to rush to his defence.

One user wrote: ‘As a mature woman, I commend you good manners.’

Another posted: ‘Manners maketh the man.’

Yet another tweeted: ‘She is the one at fault. There aren’t many of us left.’

At least one commentator was less than impressed however, insisting men giving up their seats was ‘old-fashioned and sexist’.

In May last year, Kamara was awarded an MBE at Windsor Castle for his services to sport.

Last month, Kamara admitted he felt ashamed when he was first diagnosed with Apraxia, a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain that significantly affects speech.

The broadcaster was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in 2021 and then apraxia of speech, which led to him stepping away from the majority of his TV roles for a time.

Chris has explained how he kept his diagnosis a secret for a year, even from his wife Anne, and how his friend Kate Garraway helped him seek treatment.

Speaking about the day he first noticed something was wrong, Chris told ITV’s Lorraine on Monday how ‘I woke up one day and went downstairs and tried to talk to my wife and it was slow from my brain to my mouth, and I thought I must have had too much to drink the night before.’

Chris Kamara has admitted he felt ashamed when he was first diganosed with Apraxia, a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain that significantly affects speech

Chris told ITV ‘s Lorraine on Monday how ‘I woke up one day and went downstairs and tried to talk to my wife and I thought I must have had too much to drink the night before’

‘And a few hours later I was slurring my words and then you realise something is wrong.’

Apraxia is a little-understood neurological condition that affects the body’s ability to perform natural motor functions, and apraxia of speech is a specific motor speech disorder that makes it difficult to speak.

‘I went through the first year and half on my own, I told no-one but people guessed, my wife guessed. Eventually people started to realise, my reports weren’t slick, they were slow.’

‘I thought I’d be a hinderence to the family.  I realise now it was stupid to think that. I was also ashamed. It gets me upset as I say it, I was ashamed of my condition.’

He added: ‘I apologise to anyone who has a speech problem out there, don’t be ashamed, get the help. I really am upset I thought they (family) wouldn’t look after me if I had a serious condition.’

Lorraine then revealed that it was Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway who suggested a course of treatment for Chris in Brazil.

‘Experimental treatment,’ Chris explained. ‘Now the fluency is back but the only thing I am missing is the speed and I used to talk around 300mph but its slowly coming back.’

‘The treatment has been amazing but not been sanctioned by the world medical boards. I will be campaigning for them to try and get it over here.’