Does Esports have a legitimate claim to being a sport?

Classing Esports as a sport would benefit Esports athletes

Question: Does Esports have a legitimate claim to being a sport?
Position1 of 3›: Yes, Esports has a legitimate claim at being a sport
Argument‹3 of 4›: Classing Esports as a sport would benefit Esports athletes

The argument

Being officially classed as an athlete can afford people benefits in many countries and organisations. For example, many universities and colleges offer sports scholarships, and some countries have Visas specifically for athletes, such as the US. Considering the loose definition of 'sport', and the fact that Esports athletes train just as hard as traditional athletes, these benefits offer a real-world motivation for classing Esports as a legitimate sport.

Premises

[P1]Official classification as an athlete grants access to real-world benefits such as scholarships and athlete-specific visas. [P2] Esports competitors train as rigorously as traditional athletes and fit within the loose definition of 'sport'. [P3] Denying them sport status withholds these benefits without principled justification. [C] Therefore, Esports has a legitimate claim to being recognised as a sport.

Counter-arguments

That a classification would benefit esports athletes does not show the classification is accurate. Whether esports is a sport should turn on what a sport is, not on the scholarships and visas that recognition would unlock — awarding a label because it yields perks is motivated reasoning, and one could just as easily argue for the perks to be extended to esports competitors through categories that do not require redefining sport. Benefit is a reason to *want* the label, not evidence that it fits.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] The benefits could be granted to esports competitors through other classifications, so withholding sport status does not necessarily withhold them without justification. [Rejecting C] Desirable consequences of a label are not evidence that the label is correctly applied.