Market disruption as a regime for athlete activism: An economic analysis of college football player protests

Nicholas M. Watanabe, Grace Yan and Brian Soebbing

Sport Management Review, 2019, vol. 22, issue 5, 600-612

Abstract: •Athletes’ engagement in activism generates considerable discussion from a variety of perspectives.•Limited understanding of the impacts that activism has on athletes and sports organizations exist in the literature.•The present study looks at activism by college football teams and its effect on attendance in the 2014 to 2016 seasons.•Results from regression analysis revealed that the athlete activism led to a long-run decline in attendance.In this study, the authors examine the market disruption of college football protests, under the belief the ability of market disruption can play a significant role for activism movements to challenge authority as well as expand opportunity for social change. Specifically considering game attendance as an important form of market demand, the authors employ regression modeling to analyze the relationship between game attendance and protests organized to struggle against racial injustices by football players at four Division I Football Bowl Subdivision programs. The results from the empirical models suggest that the voting demographics of the local market a team plays in have a significant relationship with attendance after a protest, with some schools experiencing declines in consumer interest. Results advance the current inquiry of athlete activism through an economic lens, which contributes to further discussions on the empowerment of athletes and their roles in social activism.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2018.08.003

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