Envy Gaming promises action after Dallas Fuel’s ‘Fearless’ speaks out against racism he experienced, as teammates in Dallas

Envy Gaming’s leadership is taking action after Dallas Fuel player Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok spoke out this week about racism he and his Korean teammates say they were dealing with in Dallas.

Mike Rufail, the founder and chief executive officer of the organization, said Envy wanted to increase security and asked others to fight racism if they saw it.

Rufail does not often make political statements. He said this himself in the five-minute video he posted on Tuesday, saying he usually sticks to games and sports. But that was something he had to admit after Lee’s Sunday grip, which was later translated from Korean into English, discusses the hatred that fuel receives ‘basically every day’.

“Being Asian here is scary,” Lee, translated by Jade, manager of Florida Mayhem, “swingclip” Kim. ‘Serious. People are still trying to pick fights with us. ”

The video emerged Sunday from Lee’s Twitch stream and was later posted on Twitter. Kim’s translation brought more English-speaking members of the Overwatch League community to the conversation.

Reports of hate crimes against Asians in the United States have been rising since the start of the pandemic, according to The New York Times, and on March 16, eight people were killed in spas in Atlanta area, including six Asians.

Rufail wanted Envy leadership to have known earlier about the incidents with Lee and the Fuel so they could possibly proceed to action, but was pleased with Lee’s response in his video.

“I wish he would have told us as soon as it happened, so maybe there were things we could do to find out who those people were, and maybe there were things we could do sooner,” Rufail said. “But at the same time, I told Fearless that he could always be of opinion and that he could always be open about his experiences.”

Rufail admitted that he and Envy could not control what other people were doing, but that they were still looking at ways to increase security. Adam Rymer, CEO of Envy, said on Twitter that the organization works through options.

‘We discussed the addition of security, personal security. “We have already discussed with security in our building, who, if they can, will try to make sure that the players are safe when they are outside and around the building,” Rufail said. “I think it will develop a bit as we go on. We are still discussing what we can do to make them feel safe. ”

In the translations of Lee’s discussion, he mentions that this happens to him and his teammates on a daily basis, and that they do not wear the mask. People even cough for them and shout purebred.

Part of the Dallas Fuel helped Lee and his seven Korean teammates and three Korean coaches.

“That’s why I sometimes wear my sweater deliberately,” Lee said. ‘When I wear my jersey, I think they realize we’re part of a team, so they do not bother us so much. But when I put on my everyday clothes, they run towards us, harass us and then run away. ‘

Rufail said the Fuel players were doing well, and that Fearless himself was caught off guard by Envy’s response and concerns. At the moment, his team is focused on his debut in the Overwatch League season against the Houston Outlaws on April 16th.

Rufail, who said he himself experienced racist remarks during his multi-decade career that began as a player, wants his players to feel safe.

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