Overwatch pro gamer Fearless shared his racist experiences on a Twitch stream earlier this week, describing that living in America as an Asian person is “scary”.
Eui-Sok Lee, his real name, is currently a professional player for the Dallas Fuel team that competes in the Overwatch League. Although from South Korea, Lee resides in Dallas, Texas, at the Fuel Performance Center.
Professional esports gamers like Lee occasionally broadcast on Twitch, where the gamer shared his experience in the United States during the pandemic with his audience. During transmission, Lee spoke about his life in Texas during this last stage.
“It’s pretty scary; people don’t even wear masks around here so it worries me“Lee says during his broadcast.
i dont know if i’m “stepping out of line” for translating something about what another team’s player is experiencing
but here’s the full translation of that Fearless clip.
please see some of what OWL players and staff are facing as Asians in America. pic.twitter.com/LZWvnRkuAx
— swingchip (@swingchip930) April 6, 2021
Afterward, Lee continued to talk about his encounters with racism while in Texas. “Being Asian here is scary“says Lee, who described incidents of people approaching him, removing their mask, and coughing in his face.
Lee says he sometimes wears his team jersey as a way to try to deter bullying. “If I have my shirt on, I think they realize that we are part of some kind of team, so they do not bother us so much, but if I have my everyday clothes, they run towards us, they harass us, we have to flee.”
There has been an increase in anti-Asian racism, especially in the last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the theories that point to China as the cause of the problem. Former US President Donald Trump himself referred to it on multiple occasions as the “Chinese virus.”
“They call us Chinese and then they harass us. The racism here is indescribable Lee commented on his broadcast.
Incidents of Asian racism have escalated in the United States, from attacks on the elderly to a shooting in Georgia that killed 8 people, six of whom were women of Asian descent.
I am deeply saddened by the situations some of our @DallasFuel players have been put in while walking the streets here in Dallas, TX. This is a great city in a proud state. This isn’t something we should be proud of at all and should all pitch in to change it. pic.twitter.com/Sq7MGlco50
— Mike Rufail (@hastr0) April 6, 2021
Team Envy CEO Mike Rufail took to his personal Twitter account to report the harassment his players faced while in Dallas. “This is a great city of a great state. This is not something we should be proud of and we should all work together to change it. “writes Rufail.
Rufail says steps are being taken to ensure player safety, but no specific details on these steps were provided in the posted video.
In a statement to IGN, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson also reported the harassment. “At Activision Blizzard, we condemn racism in the strongest possible terms. We support the Asian community, our employees and our players and are working across our organization, including esports, to do our part to combat hatred and ignorance. “.
