Kurt Busch Named To 'Most Disliked Athletes List,' But Is He Really?

A recent Forbes.com article cited a Nielsen/E-Poll Market Research survey showing NASCAR driver Kurt Busch is America's 10th-most disliked athlete.

According to the survey, 42 percent of respondents who knew of Busch said they did not like him. That put the driver into the company of such sports villains like LeBron James, Terrell Owens and Alex Rodriguez (Michael Vick and Tigers Woods topped the list).

Personally, I find a few things about the survey hard to believe.

First of all, I doubt Busch is even the most disliked driver among NASCAR fans. That honor belongs to his brother, Kyle, who routinely receives the most boos during pre-race introductions every week.

In fact, drivers such as Juan Pablo Montoya and even Jimmie Johnson often receive far more boos than Kurt Busch does. While it's certainly possible the infamous Jerry Punch altercation video will increase the level of vitriol toward Busch, did that really make it into the national consciousness?

According to Forbes, at least 10 percent of respondents had to be "aware" of an athlete in order for them to make the list.

Honestly, it's questionable that 10 percent of sports fans are even aware of who Busch is. Most of my non-NASCAR friends only know a handful of drivers – Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and maybe Jimmie Johnson. So it's surprising that mainstream sports fans would not only know Busch's name, but know enough about him to dislike him.

But let's suppose NASCAR fans do make up more than 10 percent of all sports fans and that 42 percent of them said they disliked Busch.

If that's true, you're telling me 58 percent said they liked him? Highly doubtful.

This is the same study that said the New Jersey Nets' Kris Humphries (Kim Kardashian's ex) is more disliked than LeBron James. Really? Come on...

I'm not arguing that Busch is on NASCAR fans' naughty list, but to what extent is he on America's? These polling companies might need to examine their practices and find out if they're really surveying an accurate sample of people.