It has been a tumultuous week for the fighting game community with the ban of two notable players. What started off as a single ban for a transphobic outburst escalated into a double ban for "offensive statements online" by developer Capcom.
The two banned parties are Street Fighter 5 players Dalauan "LowTierGod" Sparrow and Christina "CeroBlast" Tran. The initial incident started in an April 16 online exhibition match between the two. Sparrow lost the match on stream and began a transphobic rant towards Tran, a trans player. This incident incited outcry which led to Sparrow's ban from three major fighting game tournaments including Combo Breaker, CEO, and EVO, the latter being considered the premier fighting game tournament. Sparrow continued to attack Tran and tournament organizers on Twitter following the initial announcement of his ban.
Just days after Sparrow's ban, evidence of Tran using racial slurs on streams surfaced online. Following these initial discoveries, many uncovered more evidence of racially charged language being used in Tran's Twitter account. Tran attempted to defend her usage of the racial slur by saying that "black culture" is the problem. Another call to action was made by the community and Tran faced the same set of bans. Many praised the ban against Tran as a means of consistency within the community.
The tournament ban was extended to a global ban by Street Fighter 5 developer Capcom barring both players from entering any and all Capcom events. The announcement came from the official Capcom Fighters Twitter account which noted that both Sparrow and Tran will be banned "for an indefinite period including this year and beyond until further notice."
Many have praised tournament organizers for their swift action against both players. The FGC has long battled with incidents of discrimination and the recent week has been a harsh reminder of the ongoing issues. Upon first attention of Sparrow's transphobic outburst, many were not surprised by his actions. Sparrow has been a notorious figure within the community due to his actions both on stream and in person. He famously mocked handicapped player Mike "BrolyLegs" Begum following a loss and had a verbal altercation with Jay "Vincant" Snyder after personal attacks.
Many prominent players have been caught in troubling situations which have often been ignored or overlooked by organizers. Sparrows previous conduct has been brought into question as to why he had previously not faced punishment for his frequent outbursts. While outbursts both verbal and physical are not uncommon within the FGC, for those who have even a passing knowledge of the infamous player, this was a long-time coming.
The use of offensive language it just one of the more pressing issues with the FGC. Just last year, EVO was faced with numerous reports of sexual assault during the tournament bringing more attention to issues faced by women within the community. It was around a similar time that prominent Super Smash Bros. player Elliot "Ally" Carroza-Oyarce was banned for a an underage dating scandal. It is because of these incidents that many consider the FGC to lag behind more prominent esport genres. Despite the continuing issues, many players are happy that more action is being taken to better the community for all players.