How Does the Public Perceive the Problem? The Online Harassment of Women in Sport

Abstract

Research has shown the pervasive online harassment of women in sport, yet limited scholarship has examined public perceptions of the online harassment of women in sport. We use quantitative and qualitative responses from a national survey of U.S. adults over two waves in December 2025 and February 2026 (N = 1,912) to examine sociodemographic factors, sports following, and exposure to online harassment as predictors of opinion and to explore how respondents explain their opinions. Over 40% reported that levels of online harassment of women are higher in sport than outside of it and that levels of online harassment of women in sport have increased over the past 3-5 years. Exposure to online harassment, age, sexuality, and race/ethnicity predict opinion. Qualitative comments illustrate divergent perceptions of online harassment as variously gendered, motivated by sexism, experienced disproportionately by women, and commonly emerging as body shaming, or as gender-neutral, a phenomenon experienced by men and women equally and facilitated by the anonymity, availability, and deregulation of social media and online spaces. Our focus on public opinion contributes to the small but growing area of online hate speech in sport and has potential to inform policies to prevent and manage online harassment.