Serena Williams Is Sports Illustrated's 'Sportsperson Of The Year;' Negative Reactions Ensue!

Tennis star Serena Williams has won Sports Illustrated's "Sportsperson of the Year" award and not everyone agrees, according to USA Today.

Some argue that the prize should belong to racehorse "American Pharaoh."

The horse in question has won this year's "Triple Crown" award, making "American Pharaoh" the first horse to accomplish such a feat since "Affirmed" in 1978.

"This year was spectacular for me," wrote Williams on her Instagram page. "For Sports Illustrated to recognize my hard work, my dedication and my sheer determination gives me hope to continue on and do better."

This is the first time an individual black woman has been given the title since Mary Decker in 1983 and only the third woman to win it alone, since the title's creation in 1954, revealed BBC.

Most saw the award as a celebration of Serena Williams' impressive career and an achievement as well in the sport for people of color, but not everyone is happy.

Horse racing fans said the results from the reader's poll that was created by Sports Illustrated show that racehorse "American Pharaoh" won first place.

Brian Zipse, who is the editor of Horse Racing Nation tweeted his disappointment.

Very disappointed to see Sport's Illustrated editors ignored the fans vote, and chose Serena Williams over American Pharoah - Article coming

— Brian Zipse (@Zipseatthetrack) December 14, 2015

"American Pharaoh overwhelmingly won online poll and yet you pick someone else? What a joke," wrote another user.

Feminist, Charles Clymer defended Williams in a tweet.

Only a black woman could achieve a 53-3 record in a calendar year at the highest level of sports and have her greatness doubted. #Serena

— Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) December 14, 2015

The "Sportsperson of the Year" award has been given to entire teams, and occasionally to athletes or to coaches and never to a horse or any other animal.

"There's a knee jerk reaction to look at stats," said former Sports Illustrated writer, Courtney Nguyen. "People try to compare apples and oranges, how does she compare to a horse? How does she compare to a basketball player? Or even (current top-ranked male tennis player Novak) Djokovic? There are just so many things that speak to her as an athlete that numbers don't necessarily capture."

Nguyen is also a journalist for the Women's Tennis Association.

Meanwhile, Williams who was in the middle of her own charity race, got tired of running and took a cab to the end, reported Time. 

"I didn't run the whole way this year, but next year I will," she said in a video posted on Facebook. 

The 5k Serena Williams Live Ultimate Run, raises money for the Serena Williams Fund, which supports other charities and UNICEF.