May 28, 2024: Seventy-one percent (71%) of voters think when it comes to personal religious beliefs, sports leagues like the NFL or NBA should allow players to freely express those beliefs. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted by RMG Research found that just 19% believe sports leagues should control what their players are allowed to say publicly.
Thirty-three percent (33%) of voters believe that the league or team should be allowed to impose fines or reduce a player's playing time if the player expresses views that the league or teams find offensive. Less than half (43%) of voters think that professional athletes share the values of most Americans.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on May 21-22, 2024. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation's population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. He hosts "The Scott Rasmussen Show" on Merit Street Media Sunday mornings at 10 Eastern.
Survey Questions
When it comes to personal religious beliefs, should sports leagues like the NFL or NBA allow players to freely express those beliefs, or should they control what players are allowed to say publicly?
- 71%-They should allow players to freely express their beliefs
- 19%-They should control what players are allowed to say publicly
- 10%-Not sure
If players express views that a sports league or team finds offensive, should the league or team be allowed to impose fines or reduce a player's playing time as a consequence?
- 33%-Yes
- 41%-No
- 26%-Not sure
Generally speaking, do most professional athletes share the values of most Americans?
- 43%-Yes
- 25%-No
- 33%-Not sure
Are most professional athletes good role models for children and teenagers?
- 48%-Yes
- 32%-No
- 20%-Not sure
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and a columnist. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.