Video games have become a part of the global zeitgeist and, as a result, you could imagine my surprise when I heard that the Vancouver Canucks had banned video games from team road trips. The ban was primarily based around the ever so popular Fortnite. When asked about why video games are bad for the team, Vancouver Canucks forward and alternate captain, Bo Horvat said, “(‘Fortnite’s) definitely a no-go on the road.” He mentioned further that he thinks Fortnite is a “waste of your time” and added that teammates would be better served “hanging out with the guys.” A lot of other teams have players who are active Fortnite players (not surprising with numbers hitting 80 million in August).
Pro Athlete Fortnite Players
- Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers, MLB)
- Richard Sherman (San Francisco 49ers, NFL)
- Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics, NBA)
- Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL)
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Professional athletes have a complicated history with video games, from games with questionable cover athletes to lucrative stand alone games that were just plain terrible, (I’m looking at you Kurt Warner’s Arena Football Unleashed). In 2006, Detroit Tigers pitcher, Joel Zumaya suffered forearm and wrist inflammation caused by Guitar Hero. This left him unable to pitch in the 2006 ALCS. Although he eventually recovered from his injuries, he will forever be immortalized in the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero credits, with the message: “No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game. Except for one. Joel Zumaya. He had it coming.”
Most pro sport teams also have clauses that prohibit any activity that has the potential to cause significant injuries. It will be interesting to see in the years to come if other teams will include video games as a “dangerous activity.” When it is widely rumored that Boston Red Sox ace, David Price, had a Fortnite induced case of carpal tunnel, coupled with the World Health Organization deeming video game addiction a mental health condition earlier this year, its not hard to see why teams would outlaw video games outright.
With all this controversy stirred up by one hockey team, its worth noting that the both Washington Capitals (2018 Stanley Cup winners) and the Las Vegas Golden Knights hosted several Mario Kart parties during both of their storybook playoff runs. With results like this you’d think that every team would insist on video game stress relief and team building.
With the average male pro athlete at 27.5 years old, it puts them smack dab in the middle of the highest percentage age group of gamers (between 18 and 35). It makes sense that naturally there would be a few athletes who partake in video games after they work. If video games are so bad for athletes, it seems odd that the only team other team that has chosen to enforce a ban in this regard is the Miami Dolphins, forbidding players from playing Madden during the season. No other pro sports teams have any policies in place for video games, for better or for worse, but it has to be noted that most up and coming athletes have been told to scrub all video game references from their social media. It begs the question, are video games the next prohibited activity, inked on their contracts next to other activities like boxing, skydiving, and hang-gliding?
