It seems that this claim comes from a misunderstanding in the phrasing of study results from this article. It first cites that 44% of Gen Z Americans (18-24) watch Anime, and separately says that that demographic prefers Anime to the 3 major American sports. 44% is still a high number, higher than I expected, but it doesn't mean that the rest of the public prefers Anime to those sports. This only says that the 44% of Gen Z who watches Anime prefers it to major American sports. Because this is hard to measure, however, and there is certainly a stronger than expected foothold for Anime in Americans, it is hard to say that this isn't true. It is, however, a misunderstanding of the article and its cited study.