As the world of eSports is becoming popular and gaining more public following, participants of the events also garners public scrutiny. Recently, Chris McFarland the winner of Madden Bowl was fined following his win. Electronic Arts have taken $3,000 off of the $75,000 prize money that McFarland won because of inappropriate twitter content that he posted.
The fine was imposed by Electronic Arts after McFarland had breached EA’s code of conduct. The Madden player had posted what the game company perceived as inappropriate in is personal Twitter feed. Aside from the monetary fine, 100 Madden NFL Champion Series points have also been docked. Electronic Arts stated that the company has high expectations for all of its competitors and expects responsible and positive conduct to be demonstrated by the players at all times.
People began searching McFarland’s past tweets when he was making his way through the eight-person bracket. People began uncovering McFarland’s past tweets which contained some racial slurs that included the N-word and using the word coon to describe black people. However, it was not these old posts that got him in hot water.
The Madden Ultimate Team Twitter account posted on Feb. 8 that they find McFarland’s posts objectionable during and immediately after the Madden Bowl. Matt, Marcou, the competitive gaming commissioner for Madden, stated that the posts McFarland made were in violation of the Code of Conduct and do not represent the values of the organization. Marcou stated that he met with MarFarland to warn him against his inappropriate posts. McFarland however continued to tweet offensive messages days after the Madden tournament which forced EA to take action, as reported by Polygon.
According to Electronic Arts, the $3,000 fine will be invested in programs to help their eSports players be prepared to the exposure that comes with being in the top-level tier of gaming. EA’s statement also included that McFarland is a great competitor and champion. The company looks forward to see him compete in many more Madden Bowl events in the coming future, as published by GameSpot.
