Update: The Overwatch League has formally suspended Felix "xQc" Lengyel for four games and fined him $2000 "for violating the Overwatch League Code of Conduct" during his stream on Thursday. "The Overwatch League takes standards of player behavior seriously, whether during league play or otherwise, and is committed to responding swiftly when violations occur," it said.
Following that, the Dallas Fuel issued a statement of its own expressing support for the league's decision and saying it will suspend Lengyel for the remainder of Stage 1, which runs until February 9.
Before our match begins, we would like to issue this statement regarding @overwatchleague's decision to suspend @xQc. #burnblue pic.twitter.com/26ffHaPPEzJanuary 20, 2018
Original story:
Overwatch pro Félix “xQc” Lengyel of the Dallas Fuel has been suspended from the Overwatch League in the wake of a homophobic insult directed at Austin “Muma” Wilmot that came shortly after Wilmot's Houston Outlaws swept the Fuel 4-0 on Thursday. As reported by Kotaku, Wilmot used the line "rolled and smoked" during the OWL stream, a crack that Lengyel is known for, which led Lengyel—who didn't play in the match—to react angrily in a post-match stream.
"No, you didn't smoke shit. Shut your fucking mouth," Lengyel said. "Go back there, suck a fat cock. I mean, he would like that."
Lengyel made a show of recognizing that he'd crossed a line in the stream, no doubt in part because Wilmot is openly gay. Wilmot said in his own stream that he wasn't bothered by the remark, although he had some choice words for Lengyel, describing him as "someone who can't even get off the bench, and who's also a homophobic piece of garbage."
Lengyel later issued an apology on Twitter, which Wilmot graciously accepted, but the Dallas Fuel isn't letting it slide: The team announced on Twitter that Lengyel will not play in tonight's match against the London Spitfire, and suggested that further sanctions are coming.
The team will be taking disciplinary action related to recent comments made by Felix “@xQc” Lengyel. xQc will not be active for tonight’s match. Additional details forthcoming.January 19, 2018
In the meantime, esports commentators are weighing in on the issue: Veteran esports writer and consultant Rod Breslau expressed support for disciplinary action against Lengyel, while Overwatch League analyst Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykkles took a somewhat softer approach, expressing hope that the comment was "dumb" rather than "intentionally malicious."
xQc should not get a pass for making derogatory comments to the only openly gay player in #OverwatchLeague. This goes for both public ridicule and direct punishment that should come from Blizzard and the Dallas Fuel organization.January 19, 2018
I think the only thing to say tonight is that I would like to believe when pro players say something dumb that they are making foolhardy mistakes rather than being intentionally malicious.Young people in the spotlight will make mistakes and learn.January 19, 2018
That led to a briefly-heated exchange with Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham, director of Twitch Studios, who said that the slur was "absolutely not OK" under any circumstances. "I fully support these bans and suspensions," he said in a later tweet.
I read this as: it’s ok to be racist and disrespectful before you are 25. IT’S NOT OK. It is ABSOLUTELY not OK. https://t.co/yxB4GSTLL9January 19, 2018
