Overwatch League Fines Taimou and Silkthread, Suspends xQc

Today, the Overwatch League announced that it would be taking disciplinary action against Timo “Taimou” Kettunen and Félix “xQc” Lengyel of the Dallas Fuel, Los Angeles Valiant Player Ted “Silkthread” Wang and Houston Outlaws coach Tae-yeong “TaiRong” Kim. 

The league has suspended xQc for four matches, which will take affect March 12th, and fined the player $4,000 for "repeatedly used an emote in a racially disparaging manner on the league’s stream and on social media, and used disparaging language against Overwatch League casters and fellow players on social media and on his personal stream." This is the second instance of xQc being suspended and fined for inappropraite behavior on stream. The issue with xQc and the Overwatch League casters stems from a tweet by the player where he called the caster's work "cancer".

Taimou was fined $1,000 for using anti-gay slurs on his stream, which he would later publicly apologize for. Silkthread was also fined $1,000 for account sharing, which is a violation of the Blizzard End User License Agreement. Tairong recieved a formal warning for a offensive meme concerning the nuclear bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan that he posted to Twitter. The Overwatch League took into account his unprompted public apology and donation to the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation when deciding his punishment. 

The Overwatch League was very clear that actions like the ones taken by these members of the league would not be tolerated whatsoever.

"It is unacceptable for members of the Overwatch League to use or distribute hateful, racist, or discriminatory speech or memes. It is important for all members to be aware of the impact their speech may have on others. The overwhelming majority of Overwatch League players and staff are taking full advantage of the opportunity to play in the first major global, city-based esports league, and are rising to meet the occasion as the public figures that they are. We are committed to building a community around the Overwatch League that is welcoming and inclusive for all players and fans, and we hope that these disciplinary actions demonstrate our seriousness in that endeavor." 

With all eyes on The Overwatch League for being one of the most popular esports entities in the world, the league is determined on making sure that none of their members will commit these same kinds of transgressions in the future.

(cover photo courtesy of the Overwatch League)