Should pro gamers be considered as athletes?

[Cleary397]

Mummelmann said:

Cleary397 said:
The sheer number of gamers who are hating on other gamers on this thread is mind boggling.
Guess it shows the nature of people on VGChartz

They're not hating on anyone, they're wondering why on earth anyone would label a gamer as an athlete and it's a perfectly good question and one I would personally like to have answered as well. Setting up the whole "so you would question the athleticism of those who compete in the paralympics" is a ridiculous form of argumentation and does nothing to promote gamers to athletes as these are two vastly different things.

There is no grounds for claiming pro gamers are athletes and I don't understand why it's such a big deal that they aren't.

The whole reason for gamers gaining athlete status is it allows foreign gamers to an athlete visa in countries like the US, which allows them to continue earning money through gaming in the country they are heading to.

Its not to do with whether gaming can be considered a sport, its about allowing professional gamers to continue to earn a living.