Since the birth of e-sports, there has been a constant debate about whether E-sports is a sport and whether professional athletes can be treated equally with professional athletes. This debate may not end soon, but recently, Shaquille O'Neal shared his views. O'Neal is considered to be one of the greatest basketball players and centers. He said he believes that professional E-sports players are athletes**
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Picture from Flickr
Jake lucky from full square gaming asked O'Neal this question in a recent conversation. O'Neill not only said that he believed that professional E-sports players were athletes, but also explained this in detail. He said that physically, athletes can have different meanings. He pointed to his head and said, "but athletes mean here." He discussed the extent to which sport is a psychological game, and the physical aspect is only a small part of it.
Shaq said that he was proud of the e-sports players and praised what they had done. He even admitted the hardships of participating in E-sports. He compared the average "shelf life" (5-6 years) of E-sports players with the NFL or NBA, because it is not only physical exhaustion, but also mental exhaustion.
As E-sports is recognized by more and more people, more people may agree with O'Neill.