Should Athletes be Allowed to Protest during the National Anthem? An analysis of public opinions among U.S. adults

Abstract

America is unique in its celebration of nationalism in sports. U.S. athletes have also historically protested, particularly racial/ethnic inequalities, at sporting events-- especially during the national anthem ceremony. Since 2016, attention has centered on Black NFL players, and others who have been inspired by them, protesting during the anthem against unjust police violence and other racial/ethnic inequalities. These actions have prompted discussions about these issues, but also discussions about why the protests may have been inappropriate. This study, using descriptive and multiple regression analyses of data from the National Sports and Society Survey (N = 3,993), examines public opinions about this issue. Results suggest that public opinion is now more supportive of athletes being allowed to protest during the anthem; although, considerable opposition persists. Black individuals and those who recognize racial/ethnic discrimination in society are especially likely to support the right of athletes to protest. Heterosexual, Christian, sports fan, and military identities seem to encourage opposition to the right to protest. Indicators of traditionalism and sports nationalism attitudes are also negatively associated with support for athlete protests. Overall, these results help to better contextualize and understand the controversy over whether or not athletes should have the right to protest during the national anthem.

Public Opinions About Paying College Athletes and Athletes Protesting During the National Anthem

“…What often seem to be apolitical sports-related issues have become cultural touchstones that symbolize and bring to light racialized and politicized experiences and worldviews (Knoester and Ridpath, 2020;Knoester et al, 2021;Thorson and Serazio, 2018). That is, mirroring racial/ethnic and political divides in public sentiment on a range of social issues, substantial racial/ethnic and political partisanship gaps have become apparent in public opinions about current events in sports (Druckman et al, 2016;Intravia et al, 2020;Knoester and Ridpath, 2020).…”

“…Yet beyond merely reflecting existing patterns of political polarization, sport is also a uniquely powerful racialized and politicized social setting that is particularly meaningful to the many who play or follow. Still, it is characterized by the simultaneous salience of and disavowal of race and politics (Hartmann 2016;Knoester and Ridpath, 2020;Knoester et al, 2021).…”

“…Public opinion also symbolizes individual and cultural values and can offer knowledge about the framing and negotiation of important issues. In fact, sports-related public opinions may be especially revealing because individuals seem to be at least partly unaware of the broader implications of their attitudes about sports (Knoester and Ridpath, 2020;Knoester et al, 2021;Mondello et al, 2013;Wallsten et al, 2017). Nonetheless, research on race and public opinions about sports-related issues is underdeveloped.…”

“…Most research has isolated issues to study them, focused only on White and Black respondents, rarely used representative data, and offered little account for how and why race/ethnicity and political identities matter for sports-related public opinions. In fact, public opinion research frequently addresses overall patterns of public attitudes over "the dynamics behind attitude expression" (Druckman et al, 2014, p. 2), and public opinion poll results typically report only descriptive statistics (Druckman et al, 2016;Knoester and Ridpath, 2020;Knoester et al, 2021;Wallsten et al, 2017).…”

“…Specifically, the goals of the present study are to describe and use multiple regression analyses to predict public opinions about college athlete financial compensation and the acceptability of athletes protesting during the playing of the national anthem among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults surveyed in October of 2016. We draw from Critical Race Theory and framing theory to contend that racialized experiences in America and similar dual public framings of these issues make racial/ ethnic identities, racial attitudes, and political identities particularly salient in predicting these public opinions (Knoester and Ridpath, 2020;Knoester et al, 2021;Montez de Oca and Suh, 2020). Consequently, we focus on the extent to which novel indicators of racial/ethnic identities (i.e, White, Black, Latinx, Asian American, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial identities), racial attitudes (i.e., beliefs about contemporary issues involving racial/ethnic inequalities in education and the priorities of the Black Lives Matter movement), and political identities (i.e., selfreported conservatism and 2016 voting intentions) predict opinions towards these sports-related issues that have been positioned as both racialized and race-neutral, politicized and apolitical, within public discourse.…”