Racism in Esports: What’s Being Done?

Racism has long been an issue in traditional sports. In 2021, the belated Euro 2020 final was plagued by scandal when England fans unleashed a barrage of abuse upon three Black players. Sadly, the esports scene is not immune to controversy either. While match-fixing and player exploitation have long been a concern for the industry, instances of sexism and racism have also proliferated in recent years. It’s certainly a sad state of affairs but, thankfully, the industry is taking note and working to tackle the problem.

Racism Scandals in Esports

While online communities are regular sources of racist rhetoric, high-profile events are rarely tarnished by it. Nonetheless, it happens. One of the most infamous incidents occurred during DreamHack 2016. The Hearthstone tournament saw the meteoric rise of Terrance Miller, a relatively unheard-of player at the time. Although those attending the event got behind the young African American, there was a less savory atmosphere brewing among the audiences watching the event live via Twitch.

Twitch live chat has long had a problem with toxic content. However, it was a shock to see moderators fall short of stamping out the racist bile that many commentators were spewing as Miller worked his magic. Admittedly, Twitch has upped its game in recent years to whittle out such content, but it’s still a long way off from eliminating it entirely. One slither of good news here is that Miller established himself as one of the best Hearthstone players on the planet. You only need to check the latest Hearthstone rankings at an esports scores website to see how well he’s doing.

The TwitchCon Diversify Twitch Incident

That same year, another racism scandal rocked the esports scene. Once again, it was the Twitch platform that gave a voice to bigotry. As part of TwitchCon, the organizers moderated an event called Diversify Twitch. The event aimed to shine a light on the bigotry and racism that was rife on the service. The assembled speakers included Terrance Miller, who had been on the receiving end of inflammatory comments only months here. Sadly, this event once again brought out the worst in humanity. The Twitch live chat was quickly filled with racist remarks and insults. Twitch was quicker on the draw this time, with moderators removing comments and blocking users. However, it’s shocking to see such a progressive initiative being targeted by such hate.

Problematic Professional Players

Audiences are often the source of racist comments, but professionals can also be a problem. In 2014, the League Championship Series drew the spotlight for an incident between two players from the Ninjas in Pajamas line-up. Alfonso Rodrigeuz and Erlend Holm were both found to have promoted racist views and engaged in online abuse. Riot Games took note and dished out fines of $500 to both players. This might seem like a paltry penalty when you consider the earning potential of an S-Tier player.

Thankfully, Ninjas in Pajamas took a firmer stance against Rodriguez and Holm, dropping both from the team roster. The two players were also dealt short-term bans from the League Championship Series, as well as the 2014 Challenger Series. However, both players returned to professional competition by 2015.