One-third of Americans watching fewer sports due to racial justice messaging

Survey results found 34.5% of respondents tuned out sports when athletes began supporting social causes on the courts and fields.

DeMicia Inman

Mar 30, 2021

Data released from a recent survey found one-third of Americans tuned into fewer sports broadcasting due to racial justice messaging being presented by teams and players.

According to a new YouGov / Yahoo News poll, 34.5% of the 1,606 U.S. adults interviewed said they are watching fewer sports programs. About 11% said they now watch more as a result of political and social messaging while 56.3%, said they watch about the same amount of sports regardless of messages shared by athletes. The outlet reported viewership across all major sports was down in 2020.

The results of the survey differed by gender identity. The data found men were more likely to dismiss sports due to messages against racism. According to Yahoo, 37.65% of males said they watched less compared to 28% of females. On another note, 13% of men said they watched more sports in the wake of social justice movements, as opposed to only 7% of women.

Political party affiliation also highlighted disparities. According to the outlet, about 13.7% of Democrats claimed to have watched more sports following the influx of social justice messaging and 19% watched less. For Republicans, 53% said they watched less in the wake of social justice movements.

Mykal Walker of the Atlanta Falcons kneeling during a game.

The Yahoo News survey was conducted by YouGov between March 22-25. The participants were asked “How has the discussion of politics in sports on social media impacted your viewing habits,” and asked to answer if they watched more sports, fewer sports, or the same, with an option to select that they are not sports fans at all.

ESPN conducted a similar survey in August 2020 and found fans generally supported teams and athletes speaking out on issues of social justice and racial equality.

In an online survey of 837 people, of the 71% of fans who supported athletes speaking out, 44% indicated they strongly supported it. Half of the fans who responded to the poll said they are more likely to support teams and athletes who speak out than they were last year. 20% say they are less likely to engage with those athletes and teams.

When analyzed by race, the ESPN survey found 76% of Black fans thought athletes should be speaking out while games are being played; with 61% of Hispanic fans and 46% of white fans following suit. Overall, 49% said they should speak out while not on the court or field.

According to ESPN, the survey, conducted by TideWatch for the platform of people 18-years-old and older, “included a base sample of 537 interviews and an additional oversample of 300 interviews with Black fans, who were then weighted into their proper proportion of the population.

Portland Trail Blazers v Los Angeles Lakers — LeBron James

NBA star Lebron James has been one of the most vocal modern athletes supporting causes of racial justice has been criticized for using his platform, however, he will not back down.

As theGrio reported, the Akron, Ohio-bred basketball player promised that he will never just shut up and dribble.

In February, James responded to Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic who called the NBA champion’s activism “a mistake,” according to the report.

“I would never shut up about things that are wrong,” said James.

“I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social injustice, racism, systematic voter suppression, things that go on in our community,” James added. “I know what’s going on still, because I have a group of 300-plus kids at my school that’s going through the same thing, and they need a voice, and I’m their voice.

He added, “I’ll use my platform to continue to shed light on everything that’s going on around this country and around the world. There’s no way I would ever just stick to sports because I understand how powerful this platform and my voice is.”

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