Morality in the Sports World: Pro Football Associated More Strongly than Other Pro Sports with Negative Moral Values

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- There's much to love about the sporting world. In addition to entertainment value, pro sports can, at their best, showcase exemplary athleticism, camaraderie, pride, and humility. That said, there are also many reasons Americans might take issue with the professional sports world. Pro football has been mired in scandal lately, with both head injuries and domestic violence grabbing headlines. Pro basketball has had its share of negative press over the years, most recently focused on team owners but frequently directed at players as well. Meanwhile, baseball has had a series of steroid scandals. The list goes on – whether it's league wide incidents or just the actions of a single athlete, the sports world is rocked by scandals on a regular basis, painting players, owners, governing bodies, and even fans in negative lights. But which sports do Americans have the highest and lowest opinions of? And whose responsibility is it to enforce some level of moral standards?

When asked which of a list of popular U.S. professional sports they most associate with negative moral values, football (52%) is America's top selection by a nearly two-to-one margin over basketball (28%), the next most cited sport. Boxing (25%) and wrestling (23%) round out the second tier.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,016 adults surveyed online between September 29 and October 1, 2014. (Full results, including data tables, available here)

Americans 55 and over (59% ages 55-64, 60% ages 65+) are more likely than those 18-54 (45% ages 18-34, 51% ages 35-44, 48% ages 45-54) to cite football as among the pro sports they most associate with negative moral values, but it's perhaps more important to recognize that football is the number one response – by a wide margin – across all age groups. Meanwhile, gender lines prove to be no line at all, with 51% of men and 53% of women pointing to pro football. What's more, interest in pro football makes little difference in this perception, with 51% of those who follow it and 53% of those who don't expressing the same sentiment.

Further down the list, 14% of U.S. adults select baseball as one of the pro sports they most associate with negative moral values, while 13% point to hockey, 12% identify mixed martial arts and 9% cite auto racing. Very few single out golf (3%), soccer (2%) or tennis (1%), while 16% say they don't associate any U.S. professional sports with negative moral values.

It's not all bad
On the bright side, many Americans do have sports they associate with positive moral values. 23% each point to pro tennis and golf, while 22% select baseball. Meanwhile, just over one in ten cite pro soccer (13%), pro football (13%), mixed martial arts (11%), and pro basketball (11%) while just under one in ten point to auto racing (9%) and hockey (7%). That said, a third of Americans (33%) don't associate any U.S. professional sports with positive moral values – a sentiment that comes in strongest from women (36%, vs. 29% of men) and Americans ages 35+ (36% ages 35-54, 42% ages 55-64 and 37% ages 65+ vs. 20% among those ages 18-34).

Who's got the ball?
When asked which parties should be held responsible for enforcing moral standards within professional sports in the U.S., nearly two thirds of Americans look to the players/athletes (66%), the overall organizing or governing body for each sport (66%) and the team owners (65%), while over half point to the coaches (56%). One third of Americans call out the sponsors (32%), while one fourth say the fans should be held responsible (24%). 

• The 65-and-older set is more likely than their younger counterparts to look to the overall organizing or governing body for the sport (77% ages 65+ vs. 68% ages 55-64, 63% ages 35-54 and 60% ages 18-34) and the team owners (72% vs. 66%, 64% and 61%, respectively) as parties who should be held responsible.
• 18-34 year olds, on the other hand, are more likely than their older counterparts to point a finger at the fans (31% ages 18-34 vs. 24% ages 35-44, 18% ages 45-54, 24% ages 55-64, 19% ages 65+).

Unfavorable comparisons
Two-thirds of Americans say the overall level of morality in professional sports today is worse than the level of morality seen in professional sports 10 years ago (67%). Nearly two-thirds say the same when comparing today's level of morality to that displayed in professional sports 50 years ago, with 65% saying it is worse today and over four in ten (43%) specifying that it is a great deal worse.

The current state of pro sports also fares poorly against its scholastic counterparts, with nearly two-thirds saying it's worse than the level of morality seen in college athletics (64%), and over half saying it's worse than the level seen in high school athletics (57%).

Stepping into other areas of public life, just over two-thirds say the overall level of morality in professional sports today is worse than the levels seen among U.S. politicians and among celebrities in general (68% each).

The bottom line
Ultimately, Americans are somewhat split on whether pro athletes should be held to higher legal standards than average citizens, with 55% believing they should and 45% disagreeing with this.

Only a third of U.S. adults feel public figures in sports are setting a good example for children (32%), with 18-34 year olds most likely to agree with this sentiment while the 65 and older set is least likely to do so (46% ages 18-34, 31% ages 35-44, 29% ages 45-54, 27% ages 55-64, 20% ages 65+).

Meanwhile, a small but troubling percentage of Americans (17%) indicate that they don't care what happens off-field, as long as their team wins.

In the end, professional sports are businesses; as their consumers, fans do have some measure of power. Three-fourths of Americans (74%) believe fans who disapprove of actions by the governing body of a sport should "vote with their eyeballs" by not watching it. So – with so many Americans having a low opinion of the moral values on display in pro football, and such a strong majority saying fans should opt out if they don't approve of what they're seeing, surely football interest and viewership must be experiencing a downturn. Except that it isn't – the 55% of Americans who say they follow pro football is on par with the 54% who said the same last year, and TV viewership is up this season.

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Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 29 and October 1, 2014 among 2,016 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #93, October 8, 2014
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll

About The Harris Poll®
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.

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SOURCE The Harris Poll