The Kentucky High School Athletic Association is trying to ban Fortnite from their varsity esports. Now, Call of Duty we could see. But Fortnite? It’s not the most aggressive, violent game we’ve ever seen.

Sure, it’s got guns and stuff, but it’s also brightly colored, features little to no blood, and we’re more worried about seeing people randomly building structures than Fortnite-related shootings. It’s being fought, but it’s a ridiculous thing to have to say.

Not the First or the Last

This isn’t even the first time something this absurd has happened in Kentucky’s esports scene; not even Fortnite related. Last year, the KHSAA tried to ban League of Legends from state-level esports, due to “in-game violence.”

However, let’s talk Fortnite esports in Kentucky. PlayVS recently partnered with Epic Games to establish their own competition national club league for high school and college Fortnite. That’s awesome. But that’s not why Julian Tackett, KHSAA commissioner, placed the ban.

Well, sort of. Julian Tackett said, “There is no place for shooter games in our schools,” but that’s not the only reason we saw. Tackett is trying to work alongside the National Federation of State High School Associations to have the decision for the PlayVS system reversed.

Julian went on to say, “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 Marshall County incident.”

This is about the 2018 fatal shooting at Marshall County High, which left two students dead and quite a few more injured. Now we aren’t making light of such a terrible event. Tackett also pointed out to the Washington Post that this Fortnite esports program violates the contact signed by PlayVS and the NFHS. It would ultimately place the future of the program in peril.

Having both complaints at once sort of puts it at odds with us. A spokesperson for PlayVS clarified, though, that the Fortnite offering is a national club league, and schools that opt into Fortnite will compete separately from their respective state associations.

That sounds to me like it won’t put them at odds at all, though I’m not a lawyer. Kentucky has long resisted esports at the varsity level, so it sounds more to me like an excuse. But Fortnite is not the most violent game, nor is League of Legends. We would be more concerned about games like Call of Duty, or even ARMA. But Fortnite?

We’re pretty interested to see where this goes, quite frankly. I imagine the announcement was coincidental and not at all done to be put on the anniversary of a horrific tragedy. That is, however, unfortunate timing.

“Last year, much work went into the development of permission and authorization forms for Kentucky’s schools to continue with eSports participation. This is not one of the permitted games,” Tackett said.

People who play Fortnite are not learning how to be efficient murderers. They do ridiculous jumps and build structures faster than human ability allows. Sure, there’s a line to be drawn, but we don’t think Fortnite is the one to draw it at.

We will have to see what the future holds for Fortnite esports. For now, though, KHSAA member schools in Kentucky are not allowed to participate in Fortnite, whether it’s with PlayVS or any other interscholastic competition.