Blizzard bans pro hearthstone player for supporting Hong Kong protests

[spartaman64]

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Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai, a pro Hearthstone player from Hong Kong, ended a stream earlier this week with a statement of support for those engaged in months-long protests against local police and government. As a result of this, Blizzard has ruled that he violated competition rules, and have handed out a heavy punishment.

In the stream, part of the broadcast of the Asia-Pacific Grandmasters, Blitzchung wore a mask (similar to those worn by protesters) and said “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age!”

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Blizzard, clearly aware of the political repercussions in the Chinese market for such a statement, have determined that Blitzchung violated a competition rule, which states:

2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)

Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms.

Blitzchung’s punishment is an immediate removal from Grandmasters, a withholding of prize money for his participation and a ban from taking part in Hearthstone esports “for 12 months beginning from Oct. 5th, 2019 and extending to Oct. 5th, 2020".

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Blizzard also add that, despite them physically ducking from his comments on air and immediately cutting to a commercial, the company “will also immediately cease working with both casters” involved in airing Blitzchung’s statement.

 

source: https://kotaku.com/blizzard-suspends-hearthstone-player-for-hong-kong-supp-1838864961

 

Shit guess i have to break up with my girlfriend who is black and I'm not or else blizzard is going to ban me for offending the KKK. Like seriously how stupid does blizzard think we are that we would believe that they banned him because they care so much about other people's feelings. No this is clearly about money and it's ok blizzard we didn't expect any different from you just don't insult our intelligence and pretend that it's something else. And I don't want to hear blizzard ever brag about how progressive and diverse they are again because this clearly shows that when it costs them something to stand up for marginalized people they won't do it. If you are just progressive when it's easy then you are not really progressive.

[handymanshandle]

Mmm, big corporations supporting China. That’s how I know the protests in Hong Kong are something that’ll have way greater implications in the near and distant future.

[floofer]

It's a pretty clear violation of Blizzard's rule there. The fact is Blizzard can't take any side in the conflict. It's a company, not a politician. 

[spartaman64]

1 minute ago, floofer said:

It's a pretty clear violation of Blizzard's rule there. The fact is Blizzard can't take any side in the conflict. It's a company, not a politician. 

ok guess ill consider myself banned by blizzard for offending the KKK and never playing any of their games again.

if you ask blizzard where they stand on that debate are they going to say we need to be impartial and not take a side? no they are going to say they support minorities because it doesnt cost them 

[pas008]

Just now, spartaman64 said:

ok guess ill consider myself banned by blizzard for offending the KKK and never playing any of their games again

lol not even close to comparison

 

he violated the rules its their platform

he you considered they dont want anything linked to them? and its just about gaming nothing political or what not?

[spartaman64]

1 minute ago, pas008 said:

lol not even close to comparison

 

he violated the rules its their platform

he you considered they dont want anything linked to them? and its just about gaming nothing political or what not?

yes and by viewing everyone as human i violated that same rule by offending the KKK

[Rune]

Oy.

[jstudrawa]

He was banned for breaking a rule of the competition. 

 

It's being spun, and while I understand this, there are rules he agreed to.

 

Don't agree to the rules, or at least read them first

 

I support the protests.  Your KKK examples are stupid.

[Origami Cactus]

21 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

Shit guess i have to break up with my girlfriend who is black and I'm not or else blizzard is going to ban me for offending the KKK. Like seriously how stupid does blizzard think we are that we would believe that they banned him because they care so much about other people's feelings. No this is clearly about money and it's ok blizzard we didn't expect any different from you just don't insult our intelligence and pretend that it's something else. And I don't want to hear blizzard ever brag about how progressive and diverse they are again because this clearly shows that when it costs them something to stand up for marginalized people they won't do it. If you are just progressive when it's easy then you are not really progressive.

Blizzard is a damn company not a charity.

Your comparison makes no sense.

 

You really think that blizzard would want to get all their games banned from china because some "pro player" decided to violate the competition rules?

 

They did the only thing they could have done in that situation. They had the rules in place, and the person clearly violated them. 

 

Take a deep breath, and think about the situation again from a logical standpoint, not from an emotional one.

 

 

[spartaman64]

Just now, jstudrawa said:

He was banned for breaking a rule of the competition. 

 

It's being spun, and while I understand this, there are rules he agreed to.

 

Don't agree to the rules, or at least read them first

 

I support the protests.  Your KKK examples are stupid.

why are they stupid? they say hes offending authoritarian communists so thats why they banned him so if i offend another terrible group then should i get banned also

[spartaman64]

1 minute ago, Origami Cactus said:

Blizzard is a damn company not a charity.

Your comparison makes no sense.

 

You really think that blizzard would want to get all their games banned from china because some "pro player" decided to violate the competition rules?

 

They did the only thing they could have done in that situation. They had the rules in place, and the person clearly violated them. 

 

 

i said the exact opposite, i said this is what we expected of blizzard but they are trying to spin it as something else and thats what im unhappy/insulted about and apparently as shown in the replies some people believe them. that they just care so much about people's feelings and are such nice people etc

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, floofer said:

It's a pretty clear violation of Blizzard's rule there.

I mean... the rule basically just says "we can ban you at our discretion". Which of course they can - that doesn't make it acceptable.

4 minutes ago, floofer said:

The fact is Blizzard can't take any side in the conflict. It's a company, not a politician.

And yet they have taken a side and it's a little naive to ascribe less power to a massive corporation than to a politician. It's also absurd to assume they have no political interests - they absolutely do, they are interested in any and all politics that will make them more money.

5 minutes ago, pas008 said:

its just about gaming nothing political or what not?

Except it's not. This is extremely political (not that there's such a thing as apolitical actions) - and, unlike YouTube banning nazis, this is actual censorship because it's enforced by the Chinese government through economic pressure on companies like AB.

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

It's being spun, and while I understand this, there are rules he agreed to.

It's not being spun, everyone dumping on Blizz knows exactly how things stand. It doesn't matter if they are technically in their right, it's still an awful thing to do.

2 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

They did the only thing they could have done in that situation.

Nah, they could do whatever they wanted. They don't risk going broke any time soon, they're just greedy, soulless bastards who value money they don't need over human rights.

3 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Blizzard is a damn company not a charity.

Hardly an excuse for the encouragement of human rights violation. You could use that argument to defend slavery if it held any water.

2 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

they are trying to spin it as something else and thats what im unhappy/insulted about

I think there's plenty of reason to be mad about this even without the lies.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

5 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

He was banned for breaking a rule of the competition. 

 

It's being spun, and while I understand this, there are rules he agreed to.

 

The protesters are breaking Chinese rules too. It doesn't mean that both the protesters and these folks can't choose no to comply, and suffer the consequences. The way I see it, the demonstrators are having it a bit harsher than a competition ban.

[pas008]

5 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I mean... the rule basically just says "we can ban you at our discretion". Which of course they can - that doesn't make it acceptable.

And yet they have taken a side and it's a little naive to ascribe less power to a massive corporation than to a politician. It's also absurd to assume they have no political interests - they absolutely do, they are interested in any and all politics that will make them more money.

Except it's not. This is extremely political (not that there's such a thing as apolitical actions) - and, unlike YouTube banning nazis, this is actual censorship because it's enforced by the Chinese government through economic pressure on companies like AB.

It's not being spun, everyone dumping on Blizz knows exactly how things stand. It doesn't matter if they are technically in their right, it's still an awful thing to do.

Nah, they could do whatever they wanted. They don't risk going broke any time soon, they're just greedy, soulless bastards who value money they don't need over human rights.

Hardly an excuse for the encouragement of human rights violation. You could use that argument to defend slavery if it held any water.

I think there's plenty of reason to be mad about this even without the lies.

yes they can its their platform

 

but he clearly brought this on himself by breaking the rules

 

2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)

Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms.

[spartaman64]

3 minutes ago, pas008 said:

yes they can its their platform

 

but he clearly brought this on himself by breaking the rules

https://gamedaily.biz/article/426/blizzard-diversity-and-inclusion-leads-the-industry-wide-marathon

they should kick stevens from the company for offending people who dont believe in diversity clearly breaking the rule

[RejZoR]

Blizzard, the "we've checked and you were in fact violating the Terms of Conduct, but we can't tell you which one".

 

I always regarded Blizzard highly, but after encountering endless "being offensive and toxic" bullshit (you're literally not even allowed to make fun of yourself because that is in fact a bannable offense apparently) in Overwatch I've seen their true colors. And ppl think EA is bad. LMAO. Wait till you experience Blizzards fuckery... They are so obsessed with political correctness and catering to some fucking groups on all ends they are the real total garbage.

[Sauron]

Just now, pas008 said:

yes they can its their platform

I literally said that. You clearly missed the part where I explain that it's still a shitty thing to do.

Just now, pas008 said:

 but he clearly brought this on himself by breaking the rules

He didn't break any rules, Blizz just decided they wanted to ban him and this rule allows them to do that without legal repercussions. If breaking this "rule" was all it took to get banned almost every player would be. No, Blizzard enforces this entirely at their discretion and it's just their way of saying "if we don't want you we will ban you". Which they can do, but doing it still makes them a pile of garbage.

[TheGlenlivet]

2 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

They are so obsessed with political correctness

Maybe.  I think they are more obsessed with the billion people in China they want to play their games.

That said, the rules were violated.  That's the bottom line.

[pas008]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

I literally said that. You clearly missed the part where I explain that it's still a shitty thing to do.

He didn't break any rules, Blizz just decided they wanted to ban him and this rule allows them to do that without legal repercussions. If breaking this "rule" was all it took to get banned almost every player would be. No, Blizzard enforces this entirely at their discretion and it's just their way of saying "if we don't want you we will ban you". Which they can do, but doing it still makes them a pile of garbage.

2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)

Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms.

 

bolded italic and underlined

 

i am pretty sure no company wants to deal with a colin kaepernick

just like the nfl should have nipped it in the butt right away blizz is

[jstudrawa]

13 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

why are they stupid? they say hes offending authoritarian communists so thats why they banned him so if i offend another terrible group then should i get banned also

I didn't read anywhere that they said he's offending communists.  Can you link that wording or the snippet in a video?

 

The rules states " Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image ".

 

He did this.  He got banned.  End of that story.

 

NOW.... you may rip into Blizzard for whatever reason.

 

 

[spartaman64]

Just now, pas008 said:

2019 HEARTHSTONE® GRANDMASTERS OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES v1.4 p.12, Section 6.1 (o)

Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player’s prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and Blizzard’s Website Terms.

i guess they should ban the people who banned the player also because that damaged their image. and if a female player talks about the obstacles they went through to become a pro player they should be banned for offending some people

[spartaman64]

Just now, jstudrawa said:

I didn't read anywhere that they said he's offending communists.  Can you link that wording or the snippet in a video?

 

The rules states " Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard’s sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image ".

 

He did this.  He got banned.  End of that story.

 

NOW.... you may rip into Blizzard for whatever reason.

 

 

who do you think blizzard thinks hes offending? they probably dont think hes offending quadriplegics 

[GodSeph]

inb4 thread locked.

 

This is going to be derailed quickly. This is a troubling situation where Blizz is in the right to block any user as they are a private company and political outbursts can hurt the company image regardless of what the outburst was for. But on the other hand the political statement was meant to empower a belief the user had strong opinions on and is a very hot topic currently. Either way Blizzard would have been affected and the user most likely chose a bad time to voice such an opinion in an inappropriate time.

 

There is alot to this I do not have enough knowledge on so please do not tear this to shreds. Im wanting to see both sides before hopping on either sides bandwagons. 

 

 

[Brooksie359]

25 minutes ago, spartaman64 said:

ok guess ill consider myself banned by blizzard for offending the KKK and never playing any of their games again.

if you ask blizzard where they stand on that debate are they going to say we need to be impartial and not take a side? no they are going to say they support minorities because it doesnt cost them 

That makes very little sense. It seems to me they were upset about someone promoting their political agenda through blizzard which is not what any company wants. Blizzard is a company and 99.9% of companies want to stay away from politics in general and when someone is using them to broadcast a very political message then yeah they are going to ban them. I mean there is a time and a place to do these sorts of things and a post game interview isn't one of them. Its similar with politics and the work place. You can have whatever political beliefs you want but dont go bringing them to work because it will get you in trouble regardless of what you affiliation is. I think you are not understanding that this has basically nothing to do with what political stance they hold and how valid it is but rather that they used blizzard's platform without permission to broadcast their political stances. 

[Valentyn]

24 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

He was banned for breaking a rule of the competition. 

 

It's being spun, and while I understand this, there are rules he agreed to.

So why did Blizzard fire both the casters as well, for simply being there?