In January, TechCrunch reported that a company called PlayVS had partnered with Epic Games to launch competitive Fortnite leagues at the high school and college level; most PlayVS leagues are run in partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations, and participating schools are required to pay a per-player participation fee of $64 per player, but because the contract with Epic is separate from the NFHS affiliation, Fortnite's first season will be free for all registered players. High school registration will be open through February 17 and college through February 24, with the season beginning March 2.

However, shortly after Fortnite's school league competition was announced, the Lexington Herald Leader reported that the Kentucky High School Athletic Association closed Fortnite in the state, stating that "Kentucky schools that are KHSAA members will be able to join our partners, PlayVS and Fortnite, nor participate in any other school competitions," the association reportedly told school officials in an email.

"I want to personally assure you that we, along with the NFHS Network, are taking aggressive steps to have this decision reversed," KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said in an email. 'There is no place for shooters in our schools. This announcement is particularly troubling in that it was made on the anniversary of one of Kentucky's darkest days, the Marshall County incident."

The KHSAA also said in an email that "the decision to withdraw the shooter's license was made on the day of the Marshall County incident.

That "incident" was the January 2018 shooting at Marshall County High School, where a 15-year-old shooter killed two students and wounded 14 others, and injured four more as they tried to flee.

However, it is not clear that either the KHSAA or the NFHS has the authority to directly ban Fortnite league play at the high school level in the state; PlayVS told The Washington Post that it is independent of the state athletic association, "a national club Fortnite League" and would "function outside of our current partnerships with the NFHS and the various state associations."

"We believe the confusion was caused by small media publications misrepresenting what was posted on our website, press releases, and social media," Delane Parnell, CEO of PlayVS, told the site. '(Our postings) all say that Fortnite is a club league. After we identified this confusion, we took steps to further clarify the distinction between academics and clubs on our social channels and issued clarifications to media outlets."

The PlayVS website also makes that distinction: the League of Legends and Rocket League are described as "state-sanctioned esport[s]" that operate in partnership with the NFHS and state-level athletic associations, while Fortnite and Smite are "national club-based leagues and operate outside of any affiliation with the NFHS or their respective state associations."

Nonetheless, there may be enough grassroots support to impose a de facto ban on the games anyway. For example, Damian Laymon, coach of Boyle County High School's esports team, indicated that he agreed with the decision. 'I think there is a fine line when it comes to shooter-style games,' he said. At the high school level, do you want to be part of that?"

Interestingly, the KHSAA has allowed League of Legends to be played in esports competitions, but only reluctantly, according to a report in the Herald Leader: but according to a report in the Herald Leader, League of Legends is grudgingly allowed to play in esports competitions. However, Kentucky students over the age of 18 are legally allowed to carry firearms without a permit.

CORRECTION: This post originally indicated that the National Federation of State High School Associations was involved in the PlayVS Fortnite league; PlayVS has clarified that this is not the case.

"PlayVS operates a national Fortnite club league with Epic Games as well as the Smite League. Our goal is to give more students access to the game titles they already play in an educational and monitored environment. The Fortnite League functions outside the scope of PlayVS' current partnerships with NFHS and the respective state associations.

"These partnerships currently support League of Legends and Rocket League, titles specifically selected for high school lineups based on game content. Any school in any state that chooses Fortnite will compete in a national club league separate from their state association, and PlayVS' primary focus is to provide students access to their favorite game titles in a coaching environment that fosters teamwork, critical thinking skills, and communication .