While Tiger Woods may have thrilled fans last month with his dominant win at Torrey Pines, a recent study shows that the 14-time major champion still may not be in the good graces of a majority of American sports fans.
In a survey conducted by Nielsen/E-Poll and published by Forbes magazine, Woods came in third on the list of America’s ‘most disliked athletes.’ With an ‘appeal’ rate of only 19 percent, the No. 2-ranked player in the world was behind only two athletes who recently grabbed headlines - cyclist Lance Armstrong, who topped the list after recently admitting to doping during his career, and former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, who like Armstrong earned only a 15 percent appeal rate after he was embroiled in an Internet hoax last month.
Last year, Woods was second on Forbes’ list behind only Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who this year dropped to seventh. Between Woods and Vick on the newest list are Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, NBA All-Star Metta World Peace and New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.
NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo round out the top 10. According to the Forbes report, surveys are conducted on a rolling basis and are limited to active athletes with a minimum of 10 percent overall awareness.