In 2014, ESPN President John Skipper when referring to video gaming said, "It's not a sport-it's a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. I am interested in doing real sports." If the president of a sports organization (ESPN) does not consider video games as sports, then why would anyone else? If people declare video games a sport, does that mean they are? Is playing soccer virtually just as much a sport as playing soccer in reality?
Video games should not be classified as sports for many reasons. Sports require a lot of physical exertion and fitness, but people do not need to exert themselves of be fit in order to play video games. Additionally, the concept of video games does not match the definition of a sport. In fact, the only elements of a sport they do relate to is the team and skill aspects. These two polarizing activities could not be more different. Although video games can be extremely fun and engaging, they should not be considered as a sport for any reason.
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