Esports still haven’t figured out how to Pride correctly

The esports industry has a major problem that surfaces every June — how to execute meaningful and consistent solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. And 2022 has been no exception to the industry falling flat on its face.

While organizations may adopt a rainbow logo that will disappear on July 1, there is a distinct lack of meaningful solidarity from the esports industry when it comes to actually supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

Why a rainbow logo doesn’t cut it in 2022

The world, as it currently exists, is not a good place to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community. 179 countries have some form of legal LGBTQ+ discrimination, whether that’s the outright banning of homosexuality or other discrimination such as the banning of same-sex adoptions. In the United States, 11 states have passed laws banning transgender athletes. A study in 2018 found that 35% of LGBTQ+ adults in Britain hide their identity at work for fear of discrimination.

But like in the case of many other civil rights fights, corporations are scared to actually take a stance. In 2020, when police brutality in America was once again at the forefront of societal discussion, individuals and businesses alike were happy to post a black square on social media in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. But they did that because it made them feel like they were helping without actually having to engage with the issue.

The same can be said for rainbow variants of a company logo. FaZe Clan can post a brief tweet with a rainbow-colored FaZe logo because then they can feel good about helping the LGBTQ+ community. But the truth is that it’s just a logo. It has no tangible impact on the increasingly hostile world that LGBTQ+ individuals must contend with.

A Pride flag logo is no longer enough and truthfully, was never enough to begin with. If esports organizations want to show that they support the LGBTQ+ community, they need to put their money where their mouth is. They need to actively engage and help fight the rising tide of legalized LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Cloud9 took a step in the right direction this year, posting a thread of charities and resources for LGBTQ+ individuals. But that’s one esports organization making a marginal step towards active change. In reality, it’s a bucket in an ocean.

If esports organizations genuinely care and aren’t simply remarking on Pride Month for good PR, they can leave their rainbow logos at home.

The problem with individual choice

But the problem goes deeper than simply surface appearances of allyship.

Before going any further, it has to be acknowledged that no one is required to support LGBTQ+ rights. Everyone has free will and support is not mandatory. But that raises a problem when someone opts to utilize that right to choose in defiance of their employer.

On June 1, as mentioned previously, FaZe Clan was one of the organizations that posted a Pride Month message.

But one member of the FaZe Clan network apparently took offense to this simple message. In a now-deleted tweet, FaZe-affiliated YouTuber Talal “Virus” Almaki made his feelings on the matter known.

“Just to clarify that I don’t support any kind of LGBTQ or anything similar even if ‘FaZe’ does.

I’m a Muslim.”

Again, Virus has every right to say what he did. However, it is an incredibly tone-deaf thing to do during Pride Month. But the real problem is how it, and FaZe’s response, completely undercuts the original tweet.

An organization as large as FaZe Clan is obviously going to house a range of political and societal opinions. But when you as an organization make a post such as one supporting Pride, you need to be sure that this exact thing won’t happen. Having employees speak out against your message undercuts your message as a brand.

However, this goes a step further because FaZe didn’t do anything about this incident, at least publically. While there is every chance that FaZe spoke with Virus, there was no public message disavowing his comments. When it came to a choice between the guy who makes them money and the community they allegedly support, FaZe chose the former.

This has been a common trend in recent weeks. Insurance company State Farm, who are a major sponsor of North America’s League of Legends Championship Series, as well as the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championships, recently reversed their decision to donate books that support LGBTQ+ inclusivity to Florida school students after an outcry from conservatives.

In a move similar to FaZe Clan, the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball allowed players to remove Pride decals from their uniforms and speak to media about why they didn’t support Pride Month.

When it comes to corporations, or in this case esports organizations, Pride Month is an all-or-nothing event. It’s not enough to support Pride if members of your company are going to dispute that.

Esports must contend with gamer culture

However, perhaps the biggest issue with esports’ relationship with Pride Month is the prevailing elements of “gamer culture”. For many, the derogatory use of words such as “gay” or homophobic slurs is nothing more than “banter” or “trash talk”. While many Twitter users called out Virus for his statement, many more supported him or generally opposed FaZe Clan’s message of support.

These individuals are not some small minority, they are a sizeable portion of the esports community. We may like to say that homophobia doesn’t have a place in esports, but clearly, it does. As SK Gaming’s Lara Lunardi observed, all it took was one tweet to showcase this.

Esport orgs know this too. They know that significant members of their fanbases harbour these beliefs. This leads to either no acknowledgement of Pride Month or the half-hearted tweet and nothing else. Because to them, it’s what’s best for their business.

A vicious cycle

It’s likely that this is a trend that will continue. Orgs will continue to put out a rainbow logo on June 1 and take it away on July 1. They will continue to give their employees the freedom to publically disagree with a message of support because of a warped perception. Esports organizations will continue to misunderstand what Pride is and what their role within it should be.

The esports industry needs to take a long, hard look at how they actually intend to help and support the LGBTQ+ community. And until that happens, they can spare us their temporary rainbows.

Header: Ben Tavener, IKEA, Dan Quasar, Fragster