i think the issue is that Dragon Ball stories are structured around the idea that the people who are strong are the people who matter so if you fall behind that basically means you're gonna get marginalized.
Gohan becoming a scholar isn't necessarily the issue, it's that being a scholar means he participates that much less in the plot.
And I get that, but I don't like the way people are reacting to it. It often does come off like they're putting the worth of the character into how strong they are which doesn't feel right.
Even if he does participate in the plot, I feel like if he doesn't beat someone up in an impressive way, people are gonna keep calling him names and shit.
The show definitely is at fault for putting the people with the power at a higher level of importance of course. I mean, the reason people don't treat Usopp like they do Yamcha is because despite being weaker than a lot of the other members of the crew he still contributes in his own way, gets to win fights, and does cool shit.
But in DBZ, the ONLY way to contribute (unless your Bulma, who handles the science fuckery) is to be strong and fight the bad guy.
So I get it. I do. I just don't like how it tends to make people overreact.