Fan perception varies in the way three athletes-Kyrie Irving, Aaron Rodgers, and Novak Djokovic- have handled their decisions to not get vaccinated for COVID-19 over the past several months, according to a survey conducted by ESPN.
A majority of fans approve of how Irving has handled his decision, the survey conducted by Hart Research found. More people that responded approve of how the Brooklyn Nets star has handled his vaccination status (45%) than disapprove (40%, with 15% saying they don’t know). Those numbers climb to 46% approval, 41% disapproval, and 13% don’t know for NBA fans.
For Aaron Rodgers, 49% of fans disapprove on how the Green Bay Packers quarterback has handled his vaccination status, with 40% approving and 11% not sure. The numbers are the same for all fans and for fans that only like the NFL.
For Djokovic, 46% of all fans and 48% of tennis fans disapprove of how he handled his vaccination status in regards to the Australian Open. However, 42% of all fans and 43% of tennis fans approve.
Overall, the survey found that two out of three sports fans want to see athletes vaccinated (66% to 34%), 55% percent agree that athletes have a responsibility to publicly disclose whether they are vaccinated (38% disagree; 8% don’t have a feeling one way or another), and 59% think unvaccinated players are hurting their team because they are more likely to miss games (33% disagree; 8% don’t have a feeling one way or the other).
But 56% of those surveyed agree that unvaccinated players are standing up for their own rights by choosing not to get vaccinated (36% disagree; 8% are undecided).
The study was conducted for ESPN by Hart Research from January 16-18 and surveyed 1,002 adults 18 and over in a nationally representative online survey.
Article by: Chris Steele, iHearts143Quotes Team member
