The Super Smash Bros. community has once again united behind a cause, collaborating across social media to get Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada unbanned on Twitch.
Twitch permanently suspended the former Smash competitor’s account after another former professional Smash player, Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth, alleged Quezada began a sexual relationship with him when Quezada was 20 and he was 15. Quezada recently spoke publicly for the first time since October and said his legal proceedings against Lauth have concluded.
Quezada announced in October he had prepared a legal defense against Lauth after he, and others, claimed Lauth’s allegations were either false or inconsistent. In this latest update, Quezada did not give any specific details about his legal battle, but he said the two sides reached a “legal agreement” and that he can now focus on moving forward with his life.
Quezada said he plans to potentially return to content creation and streaming, though because of his Twitch ban, he would have to stream elsewhere. The Smash community has largely responded positively to Quezada’s message and is welcoming him back as long as he continues to get help and is transparent moving forward.
On Feb. 24, positive messages and requests for Twitch to unban Quezada were shared on Twitter, picking up the attention of several notable community figures, such as Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby and Rasheen “Dark Wizzy” Rose. As a result, #UnBanNairo reached as high as the top trending topic on Twitter in the United States for three hours.
Top players like Leonardo “MkLeo” Perez, Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma, and many others chimed in, asking for Twitch to unban Quezada, or look over the entire situation again with all of the new information provided since his ban.
As William “Leffen” Hjelte and several others noted, however, Twitch is not likely to unban Quezada just because the Smash community brought attention to new information. For this ban to be overturned, Quezada or Lauth would likely need to provide Twitch with concrete proof Quezada is innocent.
Esports journalist Rod “Slasher” Breslau, who reached out to the company about Quezada’s indefinite suspension on Feb. 23, reported Twitch provided no update on Quezada’s status, offering “no comment.”
Quezada is one of several streamers that were banned from Twitch after allegations of sexual misconduct were levied against them. No other person banned for that reason has had their suspension reversed.
