'Overwatch' League Announces Sanctions For Three Players And One Coach
The "Overwatch" League has meted out sanctions to three players and one coach for a variety of infractions including the use of anti-gay slurs and misuse of social media. The details of their penalties were announced last Friday ranging from fines to suspensions.
"It is unacceptable for members of the Overwatch League to use or distribute hateful, racist, or discriminatory speech or memes," the league explained its decision. "It is important for all members to be aware of the impact their speech may have on others."
Timo "Taimou" Kettunen, of the Dallas Fuel was fined $1,000 for using anti-gay slurs on his personal stream. A similar fine was also imposed to Los Angeles Valiant player Ted "Silkthread" Wang for account sharing.
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Dallas Fuel player Félix "xQc" Lengyel received a much heavier fine of $4,000 for using an emote in a racially disparaging manner on the league's stream and on social media. xQc also used disparaging language against "Overwatch" League casters and fellow players on social media and his personal team.
In addition to the fine, xQc will also be facing a four-game suspension effective this March 12. His own team also upped the punishment by suspending him for the remainder of the season.
On the other hand, the league issued a formal warning to Houston Outlaws coach Tae-yeong "TaiRong" Kim sharing an offensive meme on Twitter. The league explained that they considered TaiRong's "unprompted public apology" and $1,000 donation to the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation when deciding for his punishment, which can be considered light compared to the others.
The "Overwatch" League made it clear in announcing the sanctions that it is "committed to building a community" that is welcoming and inclusive for all players and fans. The league hopes that these recent sanctions will help demonstrate their seriousness into achieving this undertaking.
"Overwatch" is currently available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
