I think I'd be more inclined towards this argument if those people were actually interested in
roleplaying as said exotic races. But in several decades of ttrpg gaming, the kenku player I mention above is the
very first time I've seen anyone even make the attempt.
Instead, it's just a long history of "human with horns," or "human with a tail," or "human with scales." Not at all different from your mention above of, "human but pointy ears," and "human but stocky," just the list of, "but with..." features has grown some.
(To be fair, I've never seen anyone try to play an Elf or a Dwarf as anything other than "human but..." either. That's also a big disappointment of mine. They're not human, they shouldn't be played as human.)