The WM for Fortnite: Battle Royale was commented on in the ARD sports show by presenter Julia Scharf. She had sharp words for the players of BR-Gamers. Now she is backpedaling and explaining herself.
What did the presenter say? The Fortnite WM last weekend was even a topic for the ARD sports show for a contribution, which you can see here in the media library. Under the moderation of Julia Scharf, the Fortnite World Championship was reported on.
However, towards the end of the show, there was a moment that caused a stir. Because the presenter said:
“Children who sit in front of the PC day and night and can no longer tie their shoes themselves. Now you can decide for yourself whether this is sport or not.”
Statement causes a shitstorm, presenter explains herself
Here are the reactions: The contribution and the final statement by Julia Scharf did not go down well with many Fortnite fans. The sentence was described as naive and populist, among other things.
One is also reminded of the quotes from other sports experts who do not want to equate eSport with “real” sports like football, etc..
How did Julia Scharf react? The presenter did not want to let this sit and spoke out via Twitter with two statements. She explained among other things:
- The sentence she mentioned was not her opinion, but a quote from the doctor Dr. Fischer, who also spoke in the contribution and treats children with Fortnite addiction.
- She studied sports and therefore has a good understanding of the definition of this term.
- She primarily wanted to initiate a discussion about how much eSport can be seen as equivalent to traditional sports.
The answer to the question she posed should and can be decided by everyone themselves; for her, it was merely about sparking an exciting discussion about whether a game involving shooting is really a “sport.”
However, she did not want to diminish the performance of the Fortnite players at the WM.
Note: Our title image comes from a post by YouTube.
