EVO president Joey Cuellar is now on administrative leave following allegations of sexual misconduct, the fighting game tournament organizer announced recently. The official EVO Twitter account broadcasted an official statement stating that the organization was aware of the accusations against Cuellar and that he was on leave pending a third-party investigation.
On Wednesday, July 1, Cuellar was accused of paying money via arcade tokens to teenagers for them to jump in a pool in their underwear. A more serious accusation involved Cuellar making a bet with a 17-year old over the size of the boy's genitals. The accusations all come from a single source within the fighting game community.
The EVO organization's response to the accusation was quick, made within just a few hours of the initial accusation going live on Twitter. No comments were made regarding the status of the EVO Online tournament that was announced in recent weeks, and it's unclear if the tournament will go on as scheduled or if it will be canceled as a result of Cuellar's prominent role in the tournament's organization.
Two companies have already decided they aren't not going to wait for EVO to make a decision on the matter, however. NetherRealm Studios announced today that Mortal Kombat 11 will no longer be a part of the EVO Online tournament event, with Capcom following suit by announcing that it will no longer be a part of EVO 2020 either. It may well be that EVO won't even be given the time to evaluate whether to cancel before the parties involved pull out.
Outside of companies exiting EVO's planned tournament, individual players are also saying that they will not participate in future EVO events. Sonic Fox, a prior champion and one of the best fighting game players in the world, announced today that they would no longer participate in EVO events.
For the time being, EVO has dedicated itself to investigating the allegations against Cuellar. In its statement, EVO also said that remains dedicated to its focus on "building a safe, welcoming environment for all our players and attendees." The statement notably doesn't mention that many alleged examples of abuse or harassment within the fighting game community took place at EVO. There's much more to consider within the FGC and conventions than just Cuellar's alleged behavior.