The sports industry now has a negative image, on balance, among Americans as a whole, with 30 percent viewing the industry positively and 40 percent negatively, for minus-10 percent negative rating.
The recent survey was taken from July 30 to August 12, 2020.
In its report, Gallup noted that the sports industry marked the biggest slide in ratings among the industries it tracks, sliding 30 points from a net plus-20 positive rating in its last assessment taken from August 1 to 14, 2019.
Gallup said, “This slide in the sports industry’s image comes as professional and college leagues are struggling, and not always successfully, to maintain regular schedules and playing seasons amid the pandemic. Professional football, baseball and basketball games have also become focal points for public displays of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“While it’s not clear how much the various challenges and controversies swirling around the industry are each responsible for its slide in popularity, it is notable that sports has lost more support from Republicans and independents than from Democrats. In fact, Democrats’ view of the sports industry has not changed significantly in the past year, while Republicans’ has slipped from a +11 net-positive score in 2019 to a net -35 today, and independents’ from +26 to -10.
“The sports industry’s image has also deteriorated more among women than men, and among older adults than those younger than 35. Sports has also lost more support from non-White than White Americans, but given the extraordinarily high ratings from non-White adults a year ago, this group continues to view the sports industry positively on balance today. That is not the case with White adults, who now view the sports industry more negatively than positively, and by a 22-point margin.”
Gallup annually asks Americans whether their overall view of a wide range of industries is very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative or very negative. The top-five viewed industries were farming and agriculture with a net positive rating of 58; followed by grocery industry, 51; restaurant industry, 46; computer industry, 44; and retail industry, 35.
