A new YouGov survey reveals a lack of sympathy among Americans for the plight of professional athletes today. Majorities say athletes are paid too much, shouldn't be allowed to strike for higher salaries and are not good role models for kids.
When asked how they felt about the salaries of professional athletes, 66% of respondents said “they are too paid too much”. 27% were more understanding and said that athletes “should be paid whatever they can command on the open market”.
A majority of respondents across all demographic groups agreed that the salaries of professional athletes were too high, but there was more support of the stance that athletes should be paid whatever people are willing to pay them among two groups: males and those who identify their political views as conservative.
Respondents showed a similar lack of support when asked if they thought athletes should be allowed to strike to demand higher salaries. 54% said they should either “definitely not” or “probably not” be allowed to strike, while 35% said they should “probably” or “definitely” be allowed to.
Again, men seemed to come out slightly more on the side of the athletes than other groups, with the percentages of men for and against athletes’ ability to strike roughly equal. One factor, however, significantly affected respondents’ support on this matter: education level. Respondents with a graduate degree were nearly twice as likely as those with just a high school education to support athletes’ right to strike.
Respondents were also doubtful about athletes’ ability to be good role models for kids. Only 27% of respondents said that athletes were “definitely” or “most likely” good role models, while a full 67% said that they were “definitely not” or “most likely not” good role models.
Interestingly, level of education again had an effect on responses, though this time in the opposite direction. Those with a just a high school education were more than twice as likely as those with a graduate degree to approve of athletes as good role models.
