“Arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates”: Development and initial validation of the Attitudes Toward Athlete Activism Questionnaire (ATAAQ)

Abstract

Despite its increasing prevalence in sports at all levels of competition, there is a startling paucity of research on athlete activism and its broader impact on social and political change. Furthermore, athletes who engage in sport-based political protest – many of whom hold one or more traditionally marginalized identities – often face vicious public backlash. In order to support the role of sport psychologists and other mental health professionals in responding to this issue, there is a need to deepen our understanding of the many views and opinions people hold toward athlete activism, whether they be athletes, coaches, sport psychologists, or the broader public. To stimulate further research on this topic, we developed the Attitudes Toward Athlete Activism Questionnaire (ATAAQ) as a measure of reactions toward athlete political behavior in sport across a range of competitive levels (e.g., professional, collegiate, high school). An initial pool of 40 items was administered to a total sample of 713 participants, recruited from social media and online sport-related forums. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded a 19-item scale comprising five-factors: affective reactions (five items), perceived conflict with team (four items), athlete role (three items), lack of political qualifications/credibility (three items), and desired consequences or punishments (four items). Internal consistency estimates for the ATAAQ factors were 0.88 and above. We established initial evidence for convergent, criterion-related, and predictive validity, as ATAAQ scores were correlated in expected directions with scores on personal activism orientation, belief in a just world, and attitudes toward social justice. Strengths, limitations, and implications for research and practice are discussed.