The Fortnite banned in Kentucky has been attributed to “concern over shooter games”
In January of 2020, Epic games announced a collaboration with PlayVS. They both would team up to launch multiple competitive leagues for Fortnite. The leagues would be competed across High School and College level! Operated in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations. While the participating schools would generally be required to pay 64$, the epic deal would let players play for free. The only condition would be that the players would have to be registered in the database. The registrations will be open from February 17-24, and the tournament will start from March 2.
Fortnite banned in Kentucky
Shortly after the league was announced, Lexington Herald Leader reported that Kentucky had banned the league in the state. All school officials apparently received a mail that said “KHSAA member Kentucky schools may not participate in Fortnite with our partner PlayVS or in any other interscholastic competition.”
“I want to personally assure you that we, along with the NFHS Network are proactively taking steps to have this decision reversed,” KHSAA commissioner Julian Tackett said in the email. “There is no place for shooter games in our schools. This announcement was particularly troubling in that it came on the anniversary of one of Kentucky’s darkest days, the Marshall County incident.”
The incident is a 2018 mass shooting which took in Marshall County High School. A 15 year old student opened fire, killing 2 and injuring 16. While it isn’t clear if the KHSAA or the NFHS have the authority to impose a direct ban on the league.
PlayVS told The Washington Post that this is a “national club league for Fortnite,” independent of state athletic associations. And it will “function outside of our current NFHS partnership and state associations operating solely.”
