Unfortunately, the general public does not understand the level of training that most (one has to admit that street training in these areas is very high) of these dogs go through. When people only post pictures of APBTs doing bitework, all most people think about is "there is the proof that those vicious dogs love to bite people."
This statement could be made about any breed of dog. Do you really think it makes a world of difference what's on the biting end if the person is against bitesports or is scared of dogs, doesn't understand dogs, etc.? Narrow minded people are usually just that. Narrow minded, meaning they would not be able to generalize enough to view JUST the APBT as a "vicisous dog who loves to bite people". They will share the same opinon of all the other breeds as well.
The APBT was not bred for the work but if you have a dog capable of perfoming sport work (please note I used the word "sport" I'm not talking about real man work here) then why not utilize that ability to profile the breed's intelligence and socialbility? A true sport dog just loves the game and must be sound in order to compete which in my book is a huge boost and opportunity for our breed to overcome the typical person's veiw of the breed. When they see how well the dogs perform, how well trained they are, and the fact that they can then come off the field and cover everyone with kisses is great positive publicity.
Anyone who's ever worked a sport dog knows the immense pleasure they get from training. My Dobes, Malinois, and SBT live for the game! Nothing is as much fun as their Ring training. Brooks (the SBT) loves agility, but she LOVES ring work. It's great physical and mental exercise.
Many SBT peope I know spout the same line about bitesports being bad for the breed but they have no real knowledge of a working dog at all. If they spent a few minutes watching Brooks work they would see how much fun she has. And if they had any inkling how many friends and fans she's made over the years at training and trials, how many minds she's changed and how many people now look at bully breeds in general in a much more positive light, they would all be running out to join a local ring club!