The caster Loviel “Velly” Cardwell worked for Activision Blizzard for 6 months and commented on the games of the professional league of Call of Duty . He has now resigned from his job: The background is a bizarre incident described as a “drunken bar dispute”. Another intoxicated caster attempted to mediate the dispute but only made things much worse.
Who is that?
- Loviel “Velly” Cardwell is a former professional player of Gears of War who has been making a living in esports in a different role since 2020.
- He has been working as a caster and analyst for shooter games like Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant since September 2019.
- From January 2022, he commented on the games of the professional league of Call of Duty, a “huge job” for him, as he himself writes. He was now commenting on games with a prize pool of $500,000. He was popular among fans: Some say he significantly elevated the cast, making it more relaxed and less embarrassing.
Many hope that Call of Duty will experience a resurgence with the new titles:
Caster unexpectedly resigns mid-season
The news has occupied people: On July 23, the Call of Duty League announced that they had accepted Cardwell’s resignation and wished him all the best.
This came unexpectedly, as it was in the middle of the season (via twitter).
What led to the resignation? There was an incident after the major tournament “New York Major 4”, which took place from July 14 to 17.
It is said that the incident occurred after the actual event at the “post-event” celebration. Apparently, at that time, the professional players and members of the broadcast team had already indulged quite a bit. They are described as “intoxicated”.
There are no video recordings of the incident, but there is an eyewitness report from a well-known professional player, which several witnesses have agreed upon, which is why it is apparently accurate. Crimsix says (via twitter):
- Three casters were involved in the incident – all were already intoxicated.
- Apparently, there was a drunken bar dispute between two friends that “went poorly, but not totally badly”. One of the friends was Cardwell. The dispute was heated, but the people were apparently still “cool” with each other.
- Then a third caster came along, who tried to calm down the dispute: This third caster only made everything much worse.
- The caster 3 held Cardwell by the arms and the two shouted at each other in the face. Now it was about a shove against caster 3 by Cardwell, which Crimsix did not see.
- The caster 3 flipped out quite a bit while trying to calm the situation and threatened Velly with reporting him for assault – the dispute became increasingly heated. Then Crimsix and other professional players intervened and resolved the situation.
Crimsix says:
I was probably the most sober that night because I was on the F1 simulator for 3 hours. From my perspective, it was a drunken bar dispute that everyone would have forgotten the next morning because it was totally ridiculous.
Caster is proud to have “stood up for himself” after resignation
This is how the caster reacts: Cardwell was particularly upset on Twitter about an article from the US site Dexerto, which portrayed him as drunk and aggressive. Many on Twitter then took sides for Cardwell and emphasized his kindness. The article has since been corrected. Cardwell writes on Twitter (via twitter):
No, I am not a terrifying black man and it is embarrassing to be portrayed that way. I am glad that people stepped forward to tell the truth.
The caster himself says that during the dispute, two friends were conversing and arguing like “cousins” or “brothers”.
Then suddenly a “larger person” came at him, which escalated the situation.
Being touched upset Cardwell. He is not someone who fights. He is not that type; he has no time for such things. Therefore, he resigned.
The caster does not see the blame on himself. He is not a wild guy who picks fights, he says on Twitch.
This person, whose name is not mentioned, laid hands on him without any reason. The person already came into the situation aggressively.
However, the caster seems to be at peace with his decision to resign. He says:
It is not easy to give up a HUGE job in the industry, but I am happy that I stood up for myself.
I am pretty good at what I do and I will not let such a small situation bring me down.
As reports that Cardwell has shared indicate, he resigned because he “did not want to work in a hostile environment any longer.” He would prefer to “withdraw quietly.”
He also says that he has such confidence in his own ability that he did not want to risk anyone’s job when he spoke his resignation. Apparently, Cardwell is confident he will find another job soon:
How is this being discussed? Generally, there is disappointment that a good caster like Cardwell has been lost due to such a strange situation in which he apparently bears little blame.
There is much discussion about who the “bad caster 3” is that caused the trouble.
No one can quite envision who the aggressive person might be. A European caster is mentioned as a suspect – but others say he is as soft as butter, you can hardly imagine it.
This is what lies behind it: The video game industry is always seen as somewhat “wild” and “unprofessional”, but having a dispute at a bar celebration when drinking is not something that should only happen in gaming. Conflicts that often simmer sober also break through in such situations.
Cardwell’s reaction to resigning immediately seems to be a drastic step in any case. One can only hope that he has thought it through well.
From the outside, it rather sounds like the third person who intrudes into a dispute between friends and immediately threatens with a lawsuit deserves a reprimand from Activision Blizzard.
But drunk at the bar, rarely anything happens that one is proud of afterward:
CS:GO: Professional team kicks player mid-match – “He’s drunk”
