The world of gaming has been shaken for a month. Allegations of sexual harassment against streamers, eSports players, and developers are rocking the industry. Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk explains how he, as the head of an eSports organization, deals with the fact that his star player “ZeRo” admitted to having harassed minors.
This is the situation: Since the end of June 2020, allegations have shaken the gaming industry that there have been sexual harassment incidents in recent years. These allegations are often made on Twitter.
One person affected by the allegations was Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios (25). The Chilean is one of the most successful Smash players of all time. He has now admitted to having sent “sexually explicit messages” to minors. These incidents date back to 2014, when he was 19 years old. Barrios says he did terrible things and does not deserve to be defended (via ESPN).
The organization Tempo Storm, to which ZeRo belongs, subsequently issued a statement:
- They are parting ways with ZeRo
- They are offering to connect the victims with professional support
- They also want to help ZeRo ensure that his behavior does not repeat itself, even if they otherwise end their professional connections with him
Mob Justice via Social Media Sets a Dangerous Precedent
This is what Reynad says about the situation: The head of Tempo Storm, Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk (28), sees the situation as divided. He shares this in an interview with Inven. On the one hand, he thinks it is good that much is coming to light now, on the other hand, he considers the manner in which “mob justice via social media is imposed” to be a dangerous precedent.
He has concerns that many different cases of varying severity are merging and being treated equally. There is a wide spectrum of how serious the allegations are. However, everything is being lumped together. Above all, Reynad finds it great that serious cases are coming to light.
But I think it is a very dangerous precedent when teenagers become judges, jurors, and executioners on Twitter in future cases. Those are my concerns, but overall, it is good that the movement is happening.
Reynad
This is how Reynad handled the “ZeRo” case: He says it has been a tough time for him. The allegations against ZeRo came just days after Byron “Reckful” Bernstein died. On Twitter, Reynad posted: The death of Reckful deeply affected him.
He was disappointed when he heard about the allegations against ZeRo, but he wanted to hear from his player and learn his version of the story before making a decision.
The team quickly agreed on how to handle the situation of letting ZeRo go, but emphasized the importance of offering professional help to all those affected, including ZeRo. Rehabilitation should take precedence over punishment.
Reynad believes that this is the right approach:
I think in America people tend to equate punishment with rehabilitation. I don’t think it helps much to just punish people for the sake of punishment. If someone does something that is not okay, the most important thing is to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
Reynad
Reynad believes that ZeRo is a completely different person today than he was when he sent those Skype messages at 19. He has grown tremendously as a person in recent years. Therefore, Reynad is confident that ZeRo can recover.
This is what lies behind it: Reynad describes a problem that has already been discussed in other industries when it comes to the effects of the #MeToo movement. “Social media” justice has its pros and cons:
- On the one hand, cases are coming to light that have been concealed for years and that apparently inflicted deep wounds on the victims. This is cleansing and hopefully can prevent future incidents that traumatize victims in such a way.
- On the other hand, in all these cases, there is ultimately only one punishment: resignation from the job and loss of face. Regardless of the severity of the actual case. Someone accused of having raped someone is ultimately treated the same as someone who allegedly verbally harassed a woman. He has essentially been professionally ruined.
Even in discussions on platforms like MeinMMO, many readers express criticism of the way these allegations are handled. After all, these are just allegations. There is no court judgment and no police investigation.
This is Reynad: Andrey Yanuk (28) is an American who has already had a wild career. Originally, he was a gamer in strategy card games like Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering. He also ran a Twitch channel and was successful early on. However, Reynad has always been controversial and had strong opinions on practically everything. He was also considered quite “salty”, as someone who could not lose well because he was so ambitious.
As early as May 2014, Reynad recognized the signs of the times and founded his own eSports organization “Tempo Storm”. Initially, it was a Hearthstone team, later it expanded into new areas like Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, or Super Smash Bros. Today, Reynad is a businessman and a smart mind on the subject of eSports, which he has been involved with for so long.
The eSports scene around Super Smash Bros., a game series by Nintendo, seems to be particularly hard hit by the current allegations. The series has many young fans, and the eSports players often meet at local events:
24-year-old is said to have sexually exploited a 14-year-old Super Smash Bros. player
The title image comes from Reynads YouTube channel.
