When we think of “sports”, our minds usually go to more traditional activities which have been defined as sports in the past, such as football, basketball, cricket, swimming, badminton, and etc. However in the recent years, the concept of eSports is starting to catch on where playing video games could be considered a sport as well. In fact we have heard how League of Legends and StarCraft players have been granted visas to enter the US where they have been classified as pro athletes. Perhaps that’s the new direction we are headed at, but it seems that not everyone feels the same. Speaking to the folks at Re/code, ESPN’s President John Skipper did not seem to think that eSports was considered a sport.
This from the head of the network that streamed DOTA 2’s 10 million dollar The International championship. OK then. ESPN President John Skipper didn’t mince words when asked about his thoughts on Amazon’s $970 million purchase of Twitch: “whatevs, breh.” OK, he didn’t actually say it that way, but he may as well have. Here, via re/code, is how he actually replied: “[eSports] is not a sport—it’s a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.” That’s quite a thing to say when the US government has declared eSports just as “real” as Big Field Pigskin Toss and Long Distance Precision Hoop Shot (Sometimes Involving Looney Tunes). eSports players also adhere to grueling training regimens and tend to be dependent on youthful reflexes/physicality/dexterity during the exceedingly brief window of time that is their career. Sorry Skipper, this ain’t Chess. You’re comparing apples and pineapples—wildly different things with only superficial similarities between them.
