A Content Analysis of Sports Analytics Resistance

Business Analytics and big data have potential in many industries. The collected massive data can help organizations dramatically reduce risks while increasing operational efficiencies. In sport, just as in any business, an increasing volume of data is being captured, collected, and analyzed. Today, sports are generating more data than ever before, and sports organizations have an unprecedented opportunity to use data to improve their decision-making and their performance. The use of analytics in sports, or sports analytics (SA), is widely viewed as an essential tool in not only improving customer service but generating incremental revenue in the business side of sport. However, the view of the use of analytics in the game side is different, and the role that analytics plays on the game side of sport is relatively neglected. For example, a massive resistance to sports analytics has been reported from coaches and managers in sports teams or organizations. The purpose of this paper is to find the nature of resistance to sports analytics in professional sports teams. This study employs a content analysis of magazines and newspapers covering professional sports and business analytics. The views and remarks of coaches and managers on sports analytics are collected and coded to find out the nature of resistance.