In Fortnite: Battle Royale there was a scandal involving pro player Cowboy. He allegedly flirted with a minor streamer. This has now cost him his job in Team TSM.
Who is it about? Noah “Cowboy” Cmiel is a professional player who was part of the eSports team Team Solo Mid (TSM) for Fortnite.
TSM had won the first prize in the last ESL tournament in Katowice through player Vinny1x. They are considered one of the top e-sport organizations, even in games like League of Legends.
What happened? According to popular streamer Faith, Cowboy, who she claims is married, made inappropriate comments towards a minor streamer.
He allegedly wrote to the 16-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, that she looked good and included a winking smiley in the message.
He also allegedly invited the minor streamer to his private Discord server.
What happened there made the young streamer feel uncomfortable, as she later told eSports journalist Rod Breslau.
Cowboy’s Twitter account and Discord server have since been deleted.
Team fires player
What happened after the allegations? It wasn’t long before TSM announced via Twitter that Cowboy had been released and was no longer affiliated with TSM.
However, they did not comment on the incident initially and whether it contributed to the dismissal.
Later, however, Leena Xu, the president of TSM, stated that it was indeed related to the issue with the 16-year-old.
She had presented corresponding evidence to Cowboy’s lawyer and agents. What he does now is no longer her concern, the relationship with TSM is over.
Player wants to clear his name
This is how the accused reacts: Cowboy himself responded via offline Twitch chat and addressed the allegations:
“Hey guys, please don’t believe everything you read online. I’m not married, and I’ve hired a lawyer to clear my name. I’m not allowed to talk about it, but I’m not a pedophile.”
Cowboy’s fall is not the first time something like this has happened to eSports professionals:
