Poll shows NFL fans not turning away over domestic cases

More than three of four Americans say they will watch NFL games, whether on TV or in person, as much as they always have — but 14% say they'll watch fewer games because of recent allegations of domestic violence by some of the league's players, according to a USA TODAY Sports poll.

Marc Ganis, a leading sports consultant, doesn't believe all of the 14% mean what they say.

"It's an answer that some people may want to give for the hot-button issue of the day, but I suspect that the people who regularly watch NFL games will continue to watch them," Ganis said. "The ratings are up, especially for CBS, and I suspect we'll see more of that as the season goes on."

The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted Sept. 18-21 by Princeton Survey Research, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Asked if the NFL and its teams should take action against players who commit alleged violent crimes as soon as they learn of them, or wait until the legal outcome of such cases, 52% said wait for the outcome and 40% said take action right away.

Women were more likely than men to say the league should take action right away, by 45% to 35%. The league and the teams have received blistering criticism for their original decisions to wait for the legal outcomes in recent cases.

Asked if the NFL has been too lenient or too harsh in its handling of players, 43% said the league has been too lenient, 11% said it has been too harsh and 27% said the penalties have been about right. Women were more likely than men to say the league has been too lenient, by 48% to 39%.

Sports fans have previously expressed anger against a professional league, only to see the the unhappiness fade.

In a July 1994 poll by The Associated Press, 52% said they would watch or attend fewer games if a baseball strike happened. Weeks later it did — and it wiped out the end of that season, including the World Series. Attendance was down about 20% the next season.

"Here's a distinction that has not been made in this media vortex that we've been in for the last couple of weeks," said Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting firm Sports Corp. "Nothing about this matter, even at its worst, affects the competitiveness and integrity of the game on the field. These are not performance-enhancing drugs, illegal techniques or illegal coaching maneuvers and it doesn't deal with officiating.

'"People will watch the games regardless of who the owner is or which network is broadcasting them for the simple reason that people love NFL football. Its season is in cadence with American life, from back to school through Christmas and New Year's. That's not going to change because some cretin punched his wife at a casino in New Jersey."