where do we draw the line between racially disparaging and just being insensitive?

[Gandrake]

So more stupid league drama where we appease the pc police because a viewer asked EQO how he isn't Korean where he then jokingly assured them that he was in fact Korean as he stretched his lateral commissures.

The end result? Basically a $6000 fine and 3 game suspension. No disparaging comments were made and no broken english was spoken.

I just feel like if he would have said “no actually i'm mexican”, put on a poncho and sombrero and did the macarena, maybe even grabbed a bottle of tequila for good measure if OWL players weren’t allowed to have alcohol on stream that none of these things would have been considered racially disparaging.

[Wikko]

I really dont understand why the fuck does Blizzard restrict these players so much, especially when they're doing their own streams etc. At that point it should be more of the teams decision to either punish or simply acknowledge that things are being done with humor sometimes and let it slide. At some point Blizzards behaviour will start to affect the game, and who decides to join it, quite heavily. I know I would never dream of joining the league if I was a well known streamer

[iddqd]

Idiotic behavior from Blizzard. This is NOT racism and i strongly believe that Eqo didnt mean it this way at all.

I'd suggest to not accept the punishment and getting a lawyer to sue Blizzard.

[Cyclone Duke]

Come on lads saying "I'm Korean" and stretching your eyes to look thin is pretty easy to be defined as racist. If this guy's only defining characteristic of a Korean which he decides to make fun of is their eyes which has been an offensive thing to make fun of about asians forever.

[Freighter]

So more stupid league drama where we appease the pc police because a viewer asked EQO how he isn't Korean where he then jokingly assured them that he was in fact Korean as he stretched his lateral commissures.

The end result? Basically a $6000 fine and 3 game suspension. No disparaging comments were made and no broken english was spoken.

I just feel like if he would have said “no actually i'm mexican”, put on a poncho and sombrero and did the macarena, maybe even grabbed a bottle of tequila for good measure if OWL players weren’t allowed to have alcohol on stream that none of these things would have been considered racially disparaging.

No such comments need to be said when you pull your eyes like that.

[Deleted]

So more stupid league drama where we appease the pc police because a viewer asked EQO how he isn't Korean where he then jokingly assured them that he was in fact Korean as he stretched his lateral commissures.

The end result? Basically a $6000 fine and 3 game suspension. No disparaging comments were made and no broken english was spoken.

I just feel like if he would have said “no actually i'm mexican”, put on a poncho and sombrero and did the macarena, maybe even grabbed a bottle of tequila for good measure if OWL players weren’t allowed to have alcohol on stream that none of these things would have been considered racially disparaging.

So, a guy mocks Koreans and you're mad that Blizzard punished him because they don't want people mocking Koreans.

I don't see the issue.

[Freighter]

I really dont understand why the fuck does Blizzard restrict these players so much, especially when they're doing their own streams etc. At that point it should be more of the teams decision to either punish or simply acknowledge that things are being done with humor sometimes and let it slide. At some point Blizzards behaviour will start to affect the game, and who decides to join it, quite heavily. I know I would never dream of joining the league if I was a well known streamer

So funny to pull your eyes like that. Much humorous.

[Aggrophobic]

We draw the line where ever Blizzard wants to draw it. Their product, their rules.

[Shadowsgrace]

Not all Racial slurs are disparaging comments. Also, while I don't watch people Play Overwatch, if he's part of OWL then he's one of many that are the "Face of Overwatch ESport", which Blizzard needs to succeed. Just like any sports team player needs to be punished when they do something wrong in the public eye. This seems like a slap on the wrist compared to what some Athletes have had done to them for things far less worse. Pete Rose comes to mind.

[Super Kami Dende]

What a fucking non-issue joke. My Korean friends legitimately make jokes about their eyes themselves all the time. A couple of them have the double Lid surgery done and every so often will do the same gesture and go "see i'm still korean if I do this"

$6000 fine and 3 game suspension? fucking stupid as hell.

People that get Mad over this stuff need to grow up and stop being offended little children.

[Onikaroshi]

It's becoming a bit silly, all the stupid shit blizzard has been pulling since stage one. My GF and I used to watch every game and really enjoyed OWL, but because of all this we have just stopped, we can't support OWL treating their players like trash and fining/suspending over every small damn thing.

OWL had potential, but the over-policing of players is eventually going to step over more and more peoples lines and kill it.

[LiiLoSNK]

Would you get fined for being racist against Asgardians if you pulled your eyes back the same way and said, "Look at me I'm Thor."



Chris Hemsworth's eyes are quite squinty.

[Ehrenpanzer]

Idiotic behavior from Blizzard. This is NOT racism and i strongly believe that Eqo didnt mean it this way at all.

I'd suggest to not accept the punishment and getting a lawyer to sue Blizzard.

Unless he has a contract to play with Blizzard, he doesn't have a leg to stand on with a lawsuit.

[Onikaroshi]

Unless he has a contract to play with Blizzard, he doesn't have a leg to stand on with a lawsuit.

All players have (probably intentionally vague) contracts.

[Ehrenpanzer]

Would you get fined for being racist against Asgardians if you pulled your eyes back the same way and said, "Look at me I'm Thor."



Chris Hemsworth's eyes are quite squinty.

And when Asgardians make up a significant portion of the Blizzard playerbase (read: The vast majority of Esports players) then yes you would get the same fine. Is it silly? Sure. Did they overreact? Definitely. Is there a portion of whiny little snowflakes that will scream bloody murder about a harmless joke if Blizzard didnt drop the hammer on him? Absolutely.

[Endus]

I really dont understand why the fuck does Blizzard restrict these players so much, especially when they're doing their own streams etc.

Because they are players contracted to Blizzard's league, and those contracts have a code of conduct attached, and professional codes of conduct apply to you at all times, 24/7/365.

That it's on a private stream is irrelevant. It just means the player is stupid enough to not only break the code of conduct he's agreed to abide by, but broadcast his breach publicly.

[Gandrake]

Come on lads saying "I'm Korean" and stretching your eyes to look thin is pretty easy to be defined as racist. If this guy's only defining characteristic of a Korean which he decides to make fun of is their eyes which has been an offensive thing to make fun of about asians forever.

He wasn't even making fun of Asian people.

He was literally just like "lol see? I am actually Korean lulllll". If that is racist then so is DO YOU KNOW DE WEY?

[Deleted]

You people seem to be forgetting that sponsors don't want this, so Blizzard put their foot down on it. Blame sponsors if you want to blame anyone

[Mirishka]

Skimming over this topic, and predictably I see a bunch of bro-dudes whining and bitching that other bro-dudes can't be racist pieces of shit.

Where is my Mr. Krabbs world's smallest violin gif when I need it?

[Endus]

He wasn't even making fun of Asian people.

He was literally just like "lol see? I am actually Korean lulllll".

Well, he's not Korean. He's Israeli via Colombia.