SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Only 17 percent of Americans are in favor of the U.S. Olympic team boycotting the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in Beijing, according to a Seton Hall University poll.

The poll, involving 786 people who were randomly called throughout the country, also found 66 percent of respondents believe the Games are an inappropriate occasion for making political or social protests.

China has faced criticism of its human-rights record ahead of the Olympics in August. The Olympic torch relay has been marred by demonstrations.

Asked if human-rights violations were a "good reason" to protest the Olympics, 34 percent of poll respondents said they were and 50 percent said they weren't.

The Seton Hall Sports Poll was conducted this week. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.