eSports Organization Apologizes, Changes Course After LGBT Rules Controversy

League of Legends publisher Garena+ apologized to the participants of their annual online gaming tournament after receiving a great deal of negative feedback from the gaming community and the developers of the game, Riot Games, because of a controversial rule that limited a gaming squad to only one gay or transgender woman over the fear that they "probably have some unfair advantage."

"Our original intent when we put this together this tournament was to promote diversity in the competitive gaming community" -Garena+

"LGBT players are welcome at official LoL tourneys. We're working with partners to ensure consistency with our values across all regions." - Riot Games

There should never be a concern on whether or not a person is gay or transgender, male or female. The purpose of a gaming tournament is to demonstrate and individual's gaming skills and primarily to enjoy themselves while doing it. I believe Garena+ made the right choice of eliminating this rule because there is no reason to believe that someone has an advantage over anyone based on their orientation.

It was also pleasing to see that the developers of the game stepped in to support the people who were against this controversial rule. It shows that they not only want everyone to be able to play their game, but that they also care about their players. Hopefully, this won't be a problem in the future. Everyone should be able to participate in anything no matter what decisions they have made or what they believe.

Makuch, E. (2015, February 4). ESports Organization Apologizes, Changes Course After LGBT Rules Controversy. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from http://www.gamespot.com/articles/esports-organization-apologizes-changes-course-aft/1100-6425098/