Heading into the start of the Worlds 2019 main event, John Needham—Riot Games’ global head of League of Legends esports—has released a statement concerning the recent situation around the Hong Kong protests.
“These topics are often incredibly nuanced, require deep understanding, and a willingness to listen, and cannot be fairly represented in the forum our broadcast provides,” Needham said. “Therefore, we have reminded our casters and pro players to refrain from discussing any of these topics on air.”
Needham also said that Riot has employees and fans in places that have been under political and social unrest, and that the company doesn’t want to make any statements or actions that could “escalate potentially sensitive situations.”
Riot’s statement was necessary due to the situation surrounding Blizzard and its decision to ban a pro Hearthstone player after he showed support for the Hong Kong movement.
Some fans thought that Riot was censoring its casters from saying “Hong Kong,” but communications lead Ryan Rigney explicitly denied these accusations.
