Roger Bannister is widely regarded as one of Britain's greatest sporting heroes. However, his career included a number of controversies for which he was strongly criticized. Among such controversies was his unwillingness to disclose his training methods and the highly selective nature of the races in which he was prepared to compete. Several observers also criticized his involvement in the scientifically organized four-minute mile. In many ways Bannister can be read as being anything but an amateur as he often betrayed several traits of the 'professional'.