Amid CEO 2018 Results, FGC Sounds Off On Daytona Danger & Racism

The CEO Fighting Game Championships 2018 took place this past weekend as the latest stop on the fighting game circuit. Thousands of players and fans flocked to Daytona Beach, FL for a weekend of fun and fights. This tournament, however, came with some unique twists, one pointing to the potential future of esports (in this writer’s humble opinion) and another that puts a literal black eye on an event that’s supposed to specialize in virtual ones only. CEO 2018 was a huge success, but the underlying issues need to be addressed and soon.

First let’s start with the positives: I’ve long held the belief that esports and professional wrestling have connective tissue, more than some realize. Particularly in fighting games, we the viewers become attached to single personalities instead of large teams, faces we love watching play so much we could pick them out of a crowd on a busy street. We grow invested in their successes and failures, we cling to every round of every match as it happens, and we cheer or boo in kind.

Professional wrestling is the same thing in principle, larger than life characters performing athletic feats for crowds from all over the world. The people behind these personas build their legacies over years, creating a body of work that influences others in the business for years to come. Esports could be the same way, if the personalities playing those games were allowed to spread their wings a little.

CEO 2018 is the best example yet of how this could work, starting with the CEO x NJPW exhibition last Friday night. CEO head Alex Jebailey built a wrestling ring, allowed the professionals to grace the stage on Night 1, and then used that same ring to host the largest events of the weekend. Top 8s for Street Fighter, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more were fought in the ring, TVs brought in with chairs, and the players doing their own entrances. Look at Lee “INFILTRATION” Seon-woo enter one of his matches emulating a former wrestler (who, for the record, found it and Tweeted about it):

This could be every event! Let these players show some more of their personalities! Dominique “SonicFox” McLean has done a terrific job building a persona (or a “fursona” as it were), let him walk out to his biggest matches with something like INFILTRATION. You could have faces (wrestling speak for “good guys”) and heels (bad guys). Teams could be nWo-style factions (like how the Panda Global team came out before INFILTRATION). 2v2 matches could have tag team entrances. Heck, players who are anxious about putting themselves out there could bring in a manager like “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart or Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. The list goes on and on! Jebailey is absolutely on to something here, and if he continues to build his brand with the parallels that pro wrestling provides there’s no doubt in my mind CEO could reach a level rivaling EVO or the Capcom Cup.

Im glad people are putting Daytona Beach on blast for being a trash ass area, CEO was a fun ass event but the racism/ratchetness was not a good look.

— ..... (@Anti) July 2, 2018

Unfortunately, there’s a major obstacle standing in his way, and that’s the new town that hosts his tournaments. In the days since CEO, the fighting game community has been talking about Daytona Beach’s, how shall I say, less than accommodating behavior. By that, I mean blatant racism, intimidation, Confederate flags in full supply, and countless other behavior making people of color feel completely uncomfortable. Speaking of SonicFox…

I do definitely think the area should be addressed next year @CEOJebailey for CEO. The area as a black man made me highly uncomfortable with the amount of openly racist shit there. The venue is 10/10 but something should be done here.

— Echo Fox | SonicFox @ CEO (@SonicFox5000) July 2, 2018

We were able to catch up with a few people who attended CEO and experienced this backwards behavior firsthand, starting with Jacob “Ragnarok Tyr” Carroll from Indiana. When we asked him about what he saw, he described a harrowing encounter with a frightened couple. “When we'd arrived it was late night/early morning a few blocks away from the venue,” he explains. “While a few others were resting in the car I decided to get out and stretch my legs a bit. While I was stopped, I was approached by a younger black couple who asked if I was with the police. When I told them no, they told me I had to be careful being in that area because the police were out and about.”

He’d found this odd, considering he wasn’t wearing anything out of the ordinary or doing anything other than stretching, but a quick walk around the area near the venue hosting CEO and the couple’s trepidation began to make sense. “Once the sun came up we were just walking down the store fronts a bit further away. That's where I noticed all of the Confederate Flag styles bathing suits in shop windows for sale,” Ragnarok says. “Even though I have nothing to hide I wanted to avoid any and all possibility of a negative encounter. So after a minute or two I went back to the car. I wanted to think it was a joke but after the 2nd or 3rd bikini piece, that went out the window.”

“JWE Compbros” had a different experience, one a bit more direct. “I was walking around the area looking for a local spot that looked good to eat in,” Canaries explains. “I was about 6 blocks from the venue when I had to wait for the light to change at a crosswalk. I was looking down at my phone when some white woman put her face very close to mine, just staring at me. Like, she bent down just so I could see her staring. I looked up and she just looked me up and down with a weird look on her face as her boyfriend looked on. She then joined him and they crossed the street glancing back at me now and then. It was really strange.”

He can’t think of any reason why these two people would approach him like this, as he wasn’t doing anything other than waiting for a light to change, and unfortunately he’s not sure what can be done to prevent this type of thing in the future. “I don't know if they can do anything, honestly,” Canaries admits. “Patrols aren't gonna stop items with confederate flags in store fronts, grouping together isn't gonna stop some racist from hurling insults or throwing something from a car. A person of color was ignored in a restaurant, CEO can't do anything to stop that.”

He’s right, unfortunately. Jebailey and the rest of the CEO team can only control what happens inside the confines of the venue, and reports indicate that none of these awful events happened inside CEO itself. It was the surrounding area that caused attendees the trouble, which may prompt Jebailey and his team to think about moving the event to a more inclusive city in future years.

I’d like to say that’s where this piece ends, some mild racism affecting people outside of a major fighting game tournament that the organizers need to be wary of. However, I must turn your attention to Ryan “SylverRye” Amaechi, a pro Injustice 2 player. His CEO experience was marred by multiple instances of this awful, awful treatment, and we were able to reach him for comments as well.

When we asked him what happened, he was blunt: “I was walking with a few friends to eat, a group of white guys drove by use and tossed a cup full of ice at us. I’ve also heard a group of people talking about the KKK driving by, and we also saw a crazy amount of people high on meth and asking if we wanted to buy some. A lot of us encountered a lot of stares when we walked around the venue or in certain stores or restaurants. It wasn’t a constant thing, but this happened enough to make everyone else aware of what was going on.”

SylverRye wants to be sure that Jebailey and all who help run the event know what went down, and that action will be taken...no matter the cost. “This experience shouldn't be taken lightly,” he said. “I personally think the only solution is to relocate to another venue. I know he may take a loss or it may be expensive, but it’s either that or lose entrants next year. I want to see what he does and I hope it improves, but I won’t be going as long as it’s in Daytona.”

When we asked if he knew of others who wouldn’t go back, SylverRye cited this tweet and said “ I made a tweet today with a few pictures of people who had bad experiences and it’s hit around 1K likes and 500 retweets from all types of people, people who either went and had a similar experience, wanted to go and didn’t, or planned to go next year and everyone was upset. I believe if it’s not changed a few people really won’t come back.” Still, he knows that Jebailey and CEO itself is not to blame and he’s quick to draw a difference: “CEO is such a big and very well run event so many may go and give it a second chance.”

With all of the good things I spoke about at the top of this piece and all of the ideas that Alex Jebailey has for the FGC and his beloved CEO, none of them have a future if this issue isn't resolved. To his credit, Jebailey has already gone on record that he’s addresing it:

When I searched for a new venue in 2017, the Ocean Center was the only one that met CEO2018's big dreams checklist. We signed a multi-year deal to make it fit our budget. I think it met our event needs, but the surrounding area has not. I'm not taking that lightly.

— Jebailey #CEO2018 (@CEOJebailey) July 2, 2018

However, without actual action many of the players like SylverRye and the others he spoke of may not feel comfortable returning to Daytona for CEO 2019. A move, some help from the city itself, something has to happen to ensure not just the comfort, but the safety of everyone who attends. It is unfair and unthinkable that a group of people who flew down to Florida just to play some games and forget about the real world for a while instead had that real world rear its ugly head right in their faces. It’s not fair to them, and whatever has to be done needs to get done and soon.

As SylverRye himself put it: “I just hope Jebailey can find a solution to this problem.” For the sake of CEO (which stands for Community Effort Orlando), I hope he can too.

Speaking of major FGC events, check out what happened when The New Day took on The Elite in Street Fighter and then look at the rumor that Marvel Vs. Capcom might making making a return announcement during EVO 2018.