By More than 2 to 1, Americans Say that Pros and Colleges Not Doing Enough to Police Sexual Assaults

54% Believe Locker Room Talk is Similar to the Trump Tape

South Orange, NJ, November 2, 2016 — By a 58% to 24% margin, Americans believe that professional leagues and college conferences are not doing enough to police instances of sexual abuse by athletes.

This was the finding of a national poll conducted last week by the Seton Hall Sports Poll. The poll spoke to 841 adults (landlines and cellphones), and has a margin of error of +/- 3.4%.

A total of 58% said “no” on the question of doing enough to police the instances, with only 24% saying enough was being done.

68% felt that universities were commonly hiding instances of sexual abuse by athletes, with only 21% feeling they were not hiding those instances.

76% felt the NFL should have stronger penalties for players involved in domestic violence cases, with only 15% saying “no”. A third of respondents – 33% – felt that reports of sexual abuse by athletes make them less interested in following sports.

“The issue of the policing of sex abuse by athletes is not going away, and there seems to be a clear call for the organizing bodies to step up on areas of policing and punishment,” noted Rick Gentile, director of the Poll, which is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute.

By 72% to 16%, Americans believe that male athletes discuss their sexual conquests of women in locker room discussions. That finding was evenly placed among men (73%) and women (71%). By 54% to 33% American believe that athletes speak in the manner expressed by Donald Trump in his 2005 tape, with 58% of males thinking “yes, they do” and 51% of women thinking the same.

Rick Gentile was interviewed by Seth Everett for a podcast on the poll’s findings, which can be heard at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seton-hall-sports-poll/id1053266467?mt=2&i=377401371

ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY

One of the country’s leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership — developing students in mind, heart and spirit — since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 academic programs, Seton Hall’s academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S.News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Seton Hall, which embraces students of all religions, prepares its graduates to be exemplary servant leaders and global citizens. Its attractive main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles by train, bus or car from New York City, offering a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. The university’s nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark.

For more information, visit www.shu.edu.

About the poll:

This poll was conducted by telephone October 24-26 among 841 ta adults in the United States. The Seton Hall Sports Poll is conducted by the Sharkey Institute.

Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard landline and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been conducted regularly since 2006.

Media: Media: Marty Appel Public Relations, AppelPR@gmail.com

Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University

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