In League of Legends there has been a wave of hate against the American Nick “LS” De Cesare (27) in recent weeks. The caster and coach was set to take a coaching job with the legendary Korean LoL team T1, but fans unleashed a wave of hatred. T1 has apologized for “homophobic and racist” comments made by the fans.
What triggered the wave of hate? The legendary Korean LoL team T1 was looking for a new leadership duo, a head coach and an assistant coach until recently.
The team’s supporter, Effort, leaked the team’s plans during a stream. A private message on Discord went live on air:
- Nick “LS” De Cesare was supposedly to become the new assistant coach for T1 (featured image)
- T1 wanted to hire a former Starcraft pro as head coach
The 27-year-old De Cesare hails from the USA and has made a name for himself in the LoL scene as an analyst and caster. However, he currently lives in South Korea and has been coaching the lower-tier team bbq Olivers.
A promotion to coach T1, the most prestigious LoL team, would have been a huge career leap for LS, who enjoys high respect in the West. For example, Fnatic’s top laner, Bwipo, underscores LS’s class. He is regarded as a thought leader in the West.
But the leak caused a lot of anger and excitement in South Korea.
Fans criticized the choice of coaches – they lacked experience. LS hadn’t even won the second league, so what could he do at T1?
Furthermore, they were upset about the way communication was handled; there was no statement from management, only the leak through Effort’s channel. Fans demanded an explanation, which took a long time to come.
In the meantime, the hate was directed at LS.
Even Grandma is threatened
This is what the wave of hate looked like: The leak that the illustrious T1 would hire a coach from the USA unleashed a wave of hatred among T1’s fanatics. In T1’s Discord and on social media, there was a disturbing number of insults directed at the coach. They were personal and truly vile:
- There was talk of a wave of “homophobic and racist insults” in T1’s Discord
- The Discord mods complained that management had forbidden them to act against this “hate speech.” The comments remained unmoderated. Some moderators subsequently resigned.
- Some fans hired a truck to drive through the streets and tell the management of STK1 how they felt about hiring LS and the silence of the leadership.
The peak of the wave of hate: Angry fans reportedly even threatened LS’s grandmother.
Wave of hate completely overwhelms coach
This is how hard the wave of hate hit LS: The coach who was so targeted retreated from public life. He stopped streaming and ceased his social media activity.
LS said on Twitter that he was “pretty depressed.” He had been personally attacked for things outside of his control or that were misunderstood or simply not true.
This had all become too much for him.
A friend of his later said that LS was “not doing well mentally.” He had already been overworked, and the new development hit him hard (via reddit).
This is how T1 reacted: The T1 team has since introduced other coaches and issued a statement:
- The leak from Effort was described as a “misunderstanding,” it was not Effort’s fault but a software error. They reacted too late, and T1 apologizes for that.
- The T1 Discord channel will be closed.
- All mods have left the channel, and they have warned the “staff.”
- They want to restructure their presence on social media.
- T1 apologizes for allowing “malicious comments” to remain.
- They do not comment on “LS” himself and his hiring.
The bizarre thing is: The Starcraft coach who was leaked along with LS is actually coming, albeit in a different role. However, there is no mention of LS anymore.
Boss apologizes to LS, defends LoL fans
Meanwhile, the American head of T1, Joe Marsh, has also spoken out. He apologizes to LS but primarily defends Effort and the fans.
He cannot imagine that a “T1 fan” would harass LS’s family. He also wants to “dispel” the “rumor” about the threatening package that LS’s grandmother received. The police are investigating the matter.
Marsh apologizes for staying silent for so long. That wasn’t good.
LS is still going to T1 – as a streamer
This is what LS is doing now: The latest development in the “T1” affair is that LS has announced he will join T1 after all. He will switch to the team as a content creator (via youtube).
Now he says:
“I had the choice to go to T1, this was a real thing that could have really happened.”
However, he has now realized that he has more freedom as a streamer to produce LoL content at T1.
Conflict between the USA and Korea at T1
This is what’s behind it: The bitter impression here is that T1 seemed to have chosen LS as a coach and wanted to announce it.
However, the decision was prematurely publicized due to a technical error.
LS was so dismantled by the South Korean fans that T1 opted for a different, more conventional solution and hired two South Korean coaches with extensive experience.
It’s also possible that LS decided to distance himself from the job after the reactions. How he was supposed to coach the team after those reactions remains a mystery.
That T1 allowed these vile comments to remain makes it seem like they were throwing LS to the “wolves.” This paints a bad picture.
T1 is trying to balance between Korea and the West. This leads to tensions. In Korea, fans seem to distrust the American leadership: They believe management brings in too much “advertising” and lets Faker appear in too many commercials.
The idea that an American should train Faker probably did not sit well with many hardcore LoL fans. That finally went too far.
How T1 dealt with the “racist and homophobic” comments expressing the resistance is something everyone regrets in hindsight.
It is now clear who T1 has hired as coaches. They are the two world champion coaches from DAMWON Gaming. This has temporarily calmed the fans. Whether they can bring about a turnaround for T1 is another question:
LoL: Hope for Faker – T1 buys him the best coaches money can buy
