StarCraft 2 Tournament Boots Player for Rape Comment

[Techno Squidgy]

They better lay the banhammer down equally on this one, or they're stirring up a bigger shitstorm than if they'd done nothing.

I've had a problem with the way the gaming community uses the word 'rape' for quite some time. I used to use it myself, until I thought about what the word actually means, the actions it describes. Rape isn't something I'd wish upon my worst enemy. Yeah, I get it, you don't actually mean rape, but it's pretty insulting to those that have been victims of one of the most appalling acts humans can do to one another, and how does it reflect upon you that you're okay describing yourself as a rapist?

I don't know if a DQ was fair punishment, but it sure as hell better be the punishment the next person to pull a stunt like this receives, regardless of the gender of the trash-talker or the opponent. Especially if e-sports are trying to gain some actual legitimacy.

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

Fine, I'll be the one to say it.

Trash talk is okay. Rape in the context of competitive gaming means defeat by a huge margin. It's obviously not a threat.

If it were up to me, I'd allow this kind of talk, even against a woman. Freedom of speech to trump over quickly wounded egos.
The consequence of being an asshole should be that people will think and say you're an asshole and that knowledge can only benefit people. Everybody wins and everybody grows a thicker skin as an added bonus.

The only real mistake the guy made is that he should have known he was playing in a nanny environment.

I disagree. Trash talk is not ok, at least not in this environment. If you want to trash talk friends, that's one thing, but this is not a casual situation. Professionalism and sportsmanship should mean something to a professional sport, and this kind of behavior demeans the players and the sport itself. That's especially important in a sport that desperately trying to gain legitimacy outside its own community. And double-standard or not, this is a step in the right direction. Trying to argue that what this guy said is perfectly acceptable because that's "what everybody does" is not.

And free speech has nothing to do with this. The tournament is a private event. If the hosts want to deny this kind of rhetoric, they have every right to.

 

[Bat Vader]

Good, I am happy to see this idiot was punished for making such a stupid comment. I think pausing a game for any reason should be a DQ offense too.

 

[Valanthe]

Y'know, it's funny. A lot of people here are saying "if this was said about a male competitor, nobody would care"... and then instead of finishing "...and that's wrong too", they say "...so nobody should care about her either".

For once I'm glad someone beat me to what I wanted to say, restores a few faith points in the humanity bar.

I agree with the decision to disqualify Kas, but doing it, 'because she's a girl,' shows that they aren't addressing the problem, merely pandering to public opinion. At the same time, those pointing out the problem, that this reaction only happened because the victim happened to be female, and saying that she should have just taken it in stride, are entirely missing the reason that this is a problem.

Men deal with this kind of behaviour every day, and if any of them say anything about it, we're told to "man up," and "stop being a pussy." So instead of fixing the problem, we reinforce that it is acceptable and encouraged, because the only people who are told off are the ones who have a problem with it. We teach people that belittling others, threatening them, and being an all around bully is a perfectly acceptable way to live their life, and then we wonder why they're surprised when something like Kas' situation happens to them.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

If he said "Gonna go rape some dude" this would not be news worthy and no one would have cared.

Think about that for a minute.

If his opponent was some dude, he wouldn't have felt the need to point-out the gender of his opponent.

Think about that for a minute.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

well it was certainly tasteless

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

Unprofessional and incredibly stupid comment, but it's definitely not something to be disqualified over. Trash talk is just that, trash talk. It's unsportsmanlike and makes you seem like an ass at times, but it's not something that is so bad that it must be worthy of disqualification from that alone.

But can't you see it's the reason for the lack of females in eSports?

 

[gLoveofLove]

Unprofessional and incredibly stupid comment, but it's definitely not something to be disqualified over. Trash talk is just that, trash talk. It's unsportsmanlike and makes you seem like an ass at times, but it's not something that is so bad that it must be worthy of disqualification from that alone.

But can't you see it's the reason for the lack of females in eSports?

Hello, this a PSA. Did you know over 10000 people are flamed every month because they didn't use a sarcasm tag. Aaron here is in serious danger of his words being taken at face value and a shower of hate thrown on him. Be responsible on the internet people; use sarcasm tags.

 

[Nazulu]

If he said "Gonna go rape some dude" this would not be news worthy and no one would have cared.

Think about that for a minute.

If his opponent was some dude, he wouldn't have felt the need to point-out the gender of his opponent.

Think about that for a minute.

Why does pointing out the gender mean anything?

 

[gLoveofLove]

Let's also not forget that one time of legitimate harassment against an all female eSports team was perpetuated by women, so this isn't exactly a gender issue.

I've never heard of this. Could you be more specific?

 

[Whateveralot]

See! Gaming is misogyny!

Spoiler

*Sigh* I really have to explain, do I? I love gaming and I hate how this entire feminism discussion appears to happen solely on The Escapist, which is actually making this thing worse.

Not that I'm condoning rape-threats, but I find it annoying to have to read articles of such a handpicked subject. Not like it's bad enough to report on a hoax story about a rancid, fat kid that is "magnetic" and keeping that article on the homepage for a week after it has been debunked is the better alternative.

 

[Cronenberg1]

Reading escapist comment sections used to be entertaining, now they just make me sad. Hats off to Carly Smith and Movie Bob, who write these articles already knowing what the community's response is going to be.

 

[Gali]

well it was certainly tasteless

It wasn't Tasteless! Why are so many people bringing him into this discussion? He did nothing wrong.
He's also one of my favorite casters. <3

Oh, come on, Starcraft fans... You had one job, ONE JOB! 'Do not make rape comments', and you blew it!

Hang your heads in shame.

I really love that way of thinking. One person does something idiotic and gets punished for it by professional organization plus the community: BLAME ALL PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THE SAME THING AS HE DOES ANYWAY!

 

[FalloutJack]

Zoop

Number one, that's not what I was doing. Number two, I'm very obviously taking the piss out of it.

Moving on...

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

So this is different from someone receiving a suspension for unsportsmanlike behaviour in any other team based sport how?

 

[JayDeth]

Wait wait wait, stop. I see an article about rape and it ends up talking almost exclusively about sexism? You ARE aware men can be raped, too, right?

EDIT: And if off color comments are enough to keep women out of esports, that doesn't speak very highly of women now does it?

I mean, it was even an INVITATIONAL tournament as I recall you stating. She was only there because the TOs felt like having her. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill. Douchey person got disqualified for some severe unsportsman-like conduct. That's it.

 

[FalloutJack]

Wait wait wait, stop. I see an article about rape and it ends up talking almost exclusively about sexism? You ARE aware men can be raped, too, right?

Nobody wants to believe it, but then nobody wants to think about what goes on behind prison walls, say. In this case, that it was said was wrong no matter what. Trash-talking kiddies on any game should be banned. Nobody should be submitted to that kind of bile and hate.