ESPN President: eSports Are Not Sports

eSport players might’ve been officially recognized by US Government as professional athletes, but this isn’t enough to convince ESPN president John Skipper that gaming can be a “sport.”

“It’s not a sport — it’s a competition,” he argued. “Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.”

Interestingly, ESPN has shown increased interest in eSports during the last months. A Call of Duty tournament was held during ESPN’s X Games in Austin. ESPN3 has also streamed Valve’s The International Dota 2 tournament online.