Twitch chat is undeniably notorious for being a pit-hole of hateful and degrading remarks. Users of the platform are commonly seen making disparaging comments to the host or streamer(s) especially upon the instance of an error or oversight; where the chatroom is then instantly inundated with memes and emoticons.
These activities are becoming even more prevalent and unabating as there's no current sanction for these actions -- yet. But a professional Overwatch player is now suffering legal sanction upon taking these "twitch jokes" to a higher level.
What's The Main Issue?
Timo "Taimou" Kettunen, a professional Overwatch player, is now suffering the consequence of making derogatory comments via Twitch chat. In his latest interview with Thomas "Morte" Kerbusch, the Finnish player had made lewd comments such as: "gonna check those pantsus when im getting interviewed LUL," and "I wanna explore that interviewer girls thighs Keepo." As a result, the South Korean eSports network, OGN, has issued a complete revocation of his prize winning from his last match which is said to have amounted to $630.
According to OGN, the fine was in accordance to their sexual harassment and penalty policy which legally binds any offender that had made "sexual advances or sexually offensive acts against another person that make them feel uncomfortable."
The Aftermath
After the issue, Taimou has made his public apology on Twitter saying:
"Yesterday, I made a terrible comment that I should not have made in Twitch chat about the OGN Interviewer. I acknowledge that my comment disgusted and offended many people, including the interviewer. I understand that my comment cannot be considered as just a joke and at the time i was careless in my thinking.
To everyone who was affected and hurt by my inconsiderate and brash actions, I hang my head in apology.
I am also very sorry for disappointing our loyal fans."
I'm sorry (english)
Read: https://t.co/YpbiFZmm38
— Timo Kettunen (@EnVy_Taimou) October 14, 2016
A lot of people from the Overwatch community have pointed out that the comments made by Taimou would've been easily ignored had he not been a part of a famous competitive scene as this case is never uncommon especially considering how "toxic" a Twitch chat can be. This just simply shows how decadent the Internet community, not just on Twitch, has become. Hopefully, the people that are fond of making these kinds of jokes will be more aware of the significant impact of these common "remarks" in the future.
What do you think of the punishment? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below!
