• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 13, 2004

Most US Adults Think Olympics Should Be Amateurs

A new Harris Poll finds that half of the adults in the United States believe that participation in the Olympics should still be limited to amateurs, as it has been for most of the history of the modern Olympics. This survey also finds that most people favor some U.S. government funding for the training of American athletes, that the loss of medals and suspensions are the best ways to fight the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and that the U.S. Olympic Committee should provide funding for all American Olympic athletes, not only to potential medal winners.

Some specific findings of this survey by Harris Interactive are:

- 51% of the adult public believe that the Olympics should be restricted to amateur athletes only.

- 68% of those over age 65, and 62% of those aged 50 to 64 favor not allowing professional athletes to participate, while most people under age 40 think they should participate.

- While only 4% of the adult public thinks the federal government should provide all the money needed to train U.S. Olympic athletes, 69% think the federal government should pay some of these costs. Of these, the largest numbers favor mostly private funding with some federal funding.

- 93% believe that the best way to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs is to take away the medals of athletes who test positive and to suspend them. 46% think suspension should be for life; 45% think it should be for the current games.

- In addition, 36% favor monetary fines for the athletes and 26% favor monetary fines for the sports governing bodies of the countries involved.

- A large 78% to 22% majority believes that the U.S. Olympic Committee should fund all participants in Olympic sports, not just potential medal winners.

Should Olympic Games be restricted to amateur athletes only? (% all adults)

	Total	Age18-24	25-29	30-39	40-49	50-64	65+
Amateurs only	51%	21	41	49	51	62	68
Professionals should be allowed	15%	34	16	14	15	12	5
Doesn't matter as long as the most competitive athletes go to the Games	34%	44	43	37	34	25	27

Should the U.S. Olympic Committee accept funding or should the money to train Olympic athletes continue to come primarily from corporate sponsors, television revenues and donors? (% all adults)

100% federal funding	4%
100% private funding	31%
Mostly federal funding, but some private as well	21%
Mostly private funding, but some federal as well	44%
All who favor some federal funding	69%

How can the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Olympic competition best be eliminated? (% all adults, multiple response ok)

Loss of Medals and Suspension (NET)	93%
Loss of medals and suspension from current Games	45%
Loss of medals and suspension from Games in 2 to 4 years	31%
Loss of medals and lifetime suspension	46%
Monetary Fines (Net)	44%
Monetary fine for the athletes	36%
Monetary fines for the sports governing body	26%
Other	6%

You can find out more here.