eSports are by and large one of the most popular parts of the video gaming world. After all, this is a place where gamers can come together in order to prove who is the best among them and potentially (depending on the tournament) getting money and prizes for their victories. The movement of eSports started small, but it’s been growing, especially with things like Overwatch League and DOTA 2, and League of Legends. And recently, gamers got a chance to make an appeal to the Olympic Committee to try and get video games entered as an Olympic sport.
Sadly, after months of pleading their case, video games have been declined. Ironically though, it’s not because the committee doesn’t think they’re a “sport”, or that they couldn’t make it work as an event. Rather, it’s the “killer” games that are holding them back. This came from Thomas Bach, who is head of the International Olympic Committee, he noted to the Associated Press:
“We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which is promoting violence or discrimination,” he noted. “They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot therefore be accepted.”
This ruling is very curious for numerous reasons. Especially given the history of the Olympics itself (it’s bloody and physical, trust me), but Bach had an answer for that too:
“Of course every combat sport has its origins in a real fight against people,” he continued. “But sport is the civilized expression about this. If you have e-games where it’s about killing somebody, this cannot be brought into line with our Olympic values.”
The problem with this belief is that there are games out there that don’t have overt violence. Like Rocket League, or Overwatch to a certain extent, or Smash Bros. They seem to be focusing on the more intense shooter games and fighting game titles which don’t make up the entirety of the eSports world.
It may be possible to change their minds. But for now, it looks like a no-go for the Olympics.
