HOW SHOULD SPORTS BE DEFINED?

How should sports be defined? Should it be based on how much athleticism is required? Coordination? Mental strength? There’s so many attributes that can be thrown into the category of a sport. Whether it’s casual or competitive, organized or a mess, just every aspect plays a part. Some people even itch to gatekeep sports. For example, cheer is the one sport that is the most controversial for being defined as a sport. Well obviously it is a sport, but some people will consider it not a sport because it’s “not physically demanding” or some horrible excuse like that just to gatekeep it. 

Then there’s another subcategory of sport: Esports. Me personally, I believe it’s all about how you define a sport when it comes to that. Like there are team games that require teamwork, communication, mental strength when adversity is faced, and a little bit of physical skill if it’s a competitive game like Madden or NBA 2K. And also the amount of time and effort it takes to play at a competitive level is impressive. Some take thousands upon thousands of hours to master their craft.

The other side of this argument comes from the side that believes sports is all about the physical aspects. It’s all about how they’re just video games and require no true skill or actual hard work because there’s no physical extortion. This side of the argument is definitely valid in a way and it definitely could make someone think this way looking at it from a third-party. My opinion is it’s all based on how you see it and what you personally would determine as a sport.