Over the past few years, high school esport leagues have quickly spread across America. Organizations like High School Esports League, PlayVS, and many others offer high schools the opportunity to compete in games such like Rocket League and League of Legends.

Recently, PlayVS added Fortnite to their roster of games that schools can compete in, which makes sense because Fortnite is one of the most popular and accessible esports titles. Yet, despite Fortnite’s fairly tame nature, some schools have opted to ban the title.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) announced that Fortnite would not be offered in Kentucky. The commissioner cited “the violence” of Fortnite and its depiction of guns as the reason for the school’s abstinence from the game.

However, Kentucky is keeping football, a provably violent and dangerous activity that has directly lead to the death of seven teenagers in 2019 alone. If we are doing danger metrics, esports provides a non-violent alternative to otherwise dangerous sports like football, rugby, or even wrestling, all of which risk physical bodily harm to their participants. If violence is our standard, then those things are far worse than Fortnite.

News media and the Fortnite hysteria

The media has been attacking Fortnite for years now, decrying it as the latest in a long chain of things “ruining the youth” dating back to the beginning of time. More objectionable video games than Fortnite exist, but the public is only familiar with Fortnite, so the media choose to complain about Epic’s popular Battle Royale shooter. Fortnite is used by the news media the same way that small YouTubers use Jake Paul’s name in their video titles to get views.

Fortnite is one of the least violent games I have played in recent years. The game comes without any blood, dead bodies, or swearing. There is no tobacco use, no alcohol use, and no sex. The graphics are cartoony and the violence is cartoonish. The violence in Fortnite ends up being no more serious than the Looney Toons. Did folks forget that Bugs Bunny shot a dude with a gun for coughing during his piano performance? Despite the violence of Looney Toons, I watched it in Kindergarten, in class.

Fortnite is rated PEGI 12 in the UK, which is the equivalent of a PG rating. I mean, AirBud is rated PG. Nonetheless, Fortnite has been selected as the boogeyman of video game violence by a bunch of people who haven’t played games since Pac Man came out. It might be a hottake, but I think these highschool students might be capable of understanding the difference between cartoon violence and real world violence.

One TV show referred to Fortnite saying “It’s free, addictive, violent, and kids love it.” The TV station added scary music and screaming sound effects not found in the game to really play up how dangerous Fortnite is for your children! Despite morning show after morning show attacking Fortnite and warning of the dangerous monsters your children could become because they played a cartoon video game, one thing remains true: Video games don’t cause violence.

I repeat: Video games don’t cause violence

Julian Tackett, the commissioner of the KHSAA said, “There is no place for shooter games in our schools. This announcement was particularly troubling in that it came on the anniversary of one of Kentucky’s darkest days, the Marshal County incident.”

This comment seems to draw a correlation, if not causation, between video game violence and school shootings. A connection between violence and violent video games never been demonstrated using credible data, statistics, or reasoning. In fact, throughout the time period that video games became more violent, violent crime rates plummeted. There is absolutely no co-variation between video games and violence, but that won’t stop the hysteria. Those pushing the hysteria never cared about the facts.

Dozens of video game studies, carried out over 30 years, have consistently and conclusively demonstrated that there is no connection between video games and real world violent crime.

In fact, according to a study published in the Psychology of Popular Media Culture journal in 2015 by Markey, Markey, and French, “Contrary to the claims that violent video games are linked to aggressive assaults and homicides, no evidence was found to suggest that this medium was positively related to real-world violence in the United States. Unexpectedly, many of the results were suggestive of a decrease in violent crime in response to violent video games.”

So if you think about it, adding Fortnite to your after-school activities might actually decrease violent crime in Kentucky schools… right?

Video games are used as a scapegoat by the news media, politicians, and the ignorant to free themselves from any culpability when violence happens. Public officials don’t want to take responsibility for their failure to protect the public from gun violence, so they will always find someone else to blame.

Video games are just the latest medium being blamed for poisoning the minds of our children.

In the 1950’s there was a congressional investigation into whether comic books were “poisoning the minds of the youth.” It turns out, comic books are fine.

Then in the 1950’s and 60’s, it was rock and roll that was “ruining the children.” These accusations came along with a battery of racist notions about black people and their music. Many even went so far as to claim the founders of Rock and Roll were possessed by the devil.

In the early 00’s, my parents banned Harry Potter, while the Battle of Fallujah was broadcast on network television. I don’t believe that children’s entertainment is more dangerous to kids than seeing actual real world violence on the television.

The same people who blamed rock and roll, Harry Potter, and comic books are claiming that video games are the cause for violent crime. When they give up on that lie, they will move on to another one. Maybe next it will be podcasts ruining our children?

Fortnite is not the real problem here

In short, Julian Tackett and other critics of Fortnite and video game violence are purveyors of misinformation. I am not saying Fortnite is appropriate for all children, but for high school students it is absolutely harmless. Even if the KHSAA have the best interests at heart for their schools, that can’t make up for their ignorance. Fortnite isn’t making people violent. “Shooter games” do not cause mass shootings. Esports never killed anyone, unlike football, which, as previously mentioned, kills teenagers every year.

Do you think Fortnite should be a recognized sport in high school? Yes, organized esports are great for schools to have 89%, 17 votes 17 votes 89% 17 votes - 89% of all votes

No, esports will only lead to violence and death 5%, 1 vote 1 vote 5% 1 vote - 5% of all votes

No, esports are useless to have at schools 5%, 1 vote 1 vote 5% 1 vote - 5% of all votes Total Votes: 19 Voting is closed Poll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

Frankly, after hearing this washed up argument my entire life, I just find it offensive. It is offensive to claim, without evidence or warrant, that kids who enjoy games like Fortnite are violent people who are capable of mass violence simply because they enjoy playing a cartoon game. That is exactly what the Commissioner Tackett claimed when he implied a connection between “shooter games” and a mass shooting tragedy in Kentucky.

The video game industry has now been the target of this smear campaign for 30 years and it’s time to stop.