{"id":1501,"date":"2021-04-06T21:31:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T21:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dviouscontent.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/06\/overwatch-pro-describes-terrifying-anti-asian-racism-in-dallas\/"},"modified":"2021-04-06T21:31:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T21:31:16","slug":"overwatch-pro-describes-terrifying-anti-asian-racism-in-dallas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dviouscontent.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/06\/overwatch-pro-describes-terrifying-anti-asian-racism-in-dallas\/","title":{"rendered":"Overwatch pro describes \u2018terrifying\u2019 anti-Asian racism in Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Over the past few years, harassment and racism towards Asian people in the U.S. has continued to rise. Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks violence against the community, recorded more than 3,795 incidents since the start of the coronavirus pandemic \u2014 with a new wave of violence this year highlighting racism in this country.<\/p>\n

During a Twitch stream this week, Dallas Fuel player Lee \u201cFearless\u201d Eui-seok spoke about the racism he and his team members have experienced while training in Dallas. Lee, who is South Korean, discussed living in the U.S. during the pandemic, in a state that has rolled back pandemic restrictions \u2014 including a mask mandate \u2014 while COVID-19 continues to spread, with new surges of disease variants popping up all around the country.<\/p>\n

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i dont know if i’m “stepping out of line” for translating something about what another team’s player is experiencing<\/p>\n

but here’s the full translation of that Fearless clip.<\/p>\n

please see some of what OWL players and staff are facing as Asians in America. pic.twitter.com\/LZWvnRkuAx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 swingchip (@swingchip930) April 6, 2021<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBeing Asian here is terrifying,\u201d Lee said, according to a translation<\/a> from Florida Mayhem manager Jade Kim. \u201cI think Koreans living overseas should be careful. The racism here is no joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described particular incidents during which Dallas Fuel players, wearing masks, were approached by people without masks, or who had removed their masks, to cough on the players. Lee said the harassment the players face is \u201cbasically every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee continued: \u201cIt\u2019s pretty severe. And they try to scare us.\u201d He added that he often wears his Dallas Fuel jersey in public, rather than regular clothes, to signal that he\u2019s part of a team; he said people harass the players less when they\u2019re wearing their uniforms.<\/p>\n

Overwatch League<\/em>\u2019s Paris Eternal general manager Kim Kyoung Ey posted on Reddit that she also faced similar experiences in Dallas. \u201cGenerally made me stop shopping at the local supermarkets and just get groceries online,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Though anti-Asian racism has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, it\u2019s not new. \u201cAnti-Asian racism may have surged during the pandemic, but it\u2019s been happening for years, fueled by the idea of Asian Americans as \u2018perpetual foreigners,\u2019 or people who aren\u2019t perceived as fully American,\u201d Vox writer Li Zhou wrote in March. The recent increase in violence has brought anti-Asian racism to the forefront, triggered by a a series of attacks on elderly Asian people in the U.S, as well the Georgia shootings that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, at three Atlanta-area spas.<\/p>\n

Reports of anti-Asian hate crimes have increased by almost 150 percent in 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSU San Bernardino and reported by Vox. In response, several organizations have begun raising funds for victims and their families, as well as for Asian American communities worldwide. A list of some of these organizations is available on Vox.<\/p>\n

Dallas Fuel has not responded to Polygon\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Update: <\/strong>An Activision Blizzard spokesperson provided the following statement to Polygon:<\/p>\n

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At Activision Blizzard, we condemn racism in the strongest possible terms. We stand with the Asian community, our employees, and our players and are working across our organization, including esports, to do our part to combat hate and ignorance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n