Gallup Poll Confirms-Sports Industry Image Plunges

Gallup is perhaps the oldest and one of the most respected polling companies in the US and internationally, and on September 8th released results of their latest poll.

The poll was conducted between July 30 and August 14, 2020.

The poll rates the positive-negative views of virtually every kind of industry, from farming to pharmaceuticals, from healthcare to sports. The view for sports, especially pro, is not good.

According to Gallup:

"The sports industry now has a negative image, on balance, among Americans as a whole, with 30% viewing it positively and 40% negatively, for a -10 net-positive score. This contrasts with the +20 net positive image it enjoyed in 2019, when 45% viewed it positively and 25% negatively."

According to Gallup, since August 2019, here's how the opinions of Americans have changed towards the sports industry. The first column is from 2019, the second from July 30-August 12 2020: (bold lettering added for emphasis)

US Adults +20 ---------drop of 30 percent---------now -10
Men +17-----------drop of 24 percent---------now -7
Women +21-----------drop of 34 percent---------now -17
18-34 +36-----------drop of 15 percent---------now +15
35-54 +25------------drop of 44 percent--------now -19

The study also shows plummeting support among Republicans and independent voters:

Republicans +11---------drop of 46 percent--------now -35
Independents +26--------drop of 36 percent-------now -10
Democrats +16----------drop of 5 percent--------now +11

And finally, although they're still on the positive side, the biggest jumps in negative views towards the sports industry have come from non-white persons. Their views of sports were pretty high, so despite a huge plunge, still on positive side. But see the changes: