More Proof That Politics And Sports Don’t Mix

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I enjoy watching sports and, here's a shocker, I enjoy talking about politics. There is room in my life for both subjects, but combining the two has never been something that I thought was a good idea.

With Major League Baseball's Opening Day right around the corner, I found this study pretty interesting about the mixing of sports and politics and for those in the sports world, it should be worrisome.

According to a poll released from Yahoo News and YouGov, 34.5% said they watched fewer sporting events due to the political and social justice protests that became fairly wide-spread in 2020. Eleven percent of respondents said they watched more sports due to political messaging while 56.3% said their viewing habits did not change at all.

34.5% of viewers is a large number and as reported by Yahoo News, likely had an impact on ratings.

Ratings across all major sports were down in 2020, the result of a range of factors including time-shifted sports calendars and the presidential election, but it’s clear from this poll that politics and social justice had some impact on the ratings decline.

Sports is meant to be a distraction, something fun to watch or attend. Not another place to be lectured to. Sports can also bring us together and unite us unlike many other things can.

I, for one, hope that during this Major League Baseball season, we will see less and less politics and see more good baseball being played. Just allow me and others to escape for a while into the game and leave social justice issues and politics out. We need it. Sports needs it too.