Insider
Poll:
Despite What You See And Hear, Public
Opinion Evenly Split On Whether Falcons Should Cut Vick Now
(7/18/07) It would be easy to assume, based on talk radio calls,
newspaper and television reports, that public reaction is running
strongly against Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick following
his indictment on charges stemming from dog fighting. But a new
InsiderAdvantage / Majority Opinion Research poll shows there is
a nearly even division of opinion about whether the Falcons should
keep Vick or let him go.
Insider polled 859 people by telephone overnight and found that,
overall, 45.9 percent believe Vick should be given his walking papers
while 45.7 percent said the team should keep Vick until a verdict
is delivered. Some 8.4 percent had no opinion.
The poll was weighted for race and gender and has a margin of error
of plus or minus 3 percent.
There is a racial component to the public’s view of the case:
54 percent of white respondents but only 26.6 percent of black respondents
believe Vick should be released now by Falcons management. On the
other hand, only 36.7 percent of white respondents but 65.6 percent
of black respondents thought he should be kept until there is a
verdict.
“As is often the case in polarizing issues such as this,
support breaks along racial lines,” said InsiderAdvantage
CEO and political analyst Matt Towery.
Among the overall Falcons fan base (those who said they listened
to, watched or attended Falcons games), 46.8 percent wanted Vick
released immediately, 48.4 percent said he should be kept until
a verdict and 4.9 percent had no opinion.
Among non-fans, 44.8 percent said they thought he should be released,
37.2 percent said he should be kept and 18 percent had no opinion.
So among fans and non-fans alike, there is a significant division
of opinion.
“This indicates the fine line the Falcons and the NFL have
to walk,” said Towery. “This explains why the two organizations
are approaching this as carefully as they are. It is not a cut and
dried issue, even within their own base.”
So while opinion is much more divided on this than might seem the
case, there is one other point Towery made:
“If we were to poll this in a political race, the numbers
would be devastating because if we’re seeing approval ratings
on someone this well known under 50 percent, it would basically
beg for a new candidate. But in the sports world, that has to be
determined by the Falcons ownership and the fans, as to whether
this translates into keeping him or letting him go.”
The crosstabs can be viewed
here (Adobe Acrobat format).
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