EA Sports banned esports player for joking about another player's fingers

Pro player Harry Hesketh has announced his retirement from his esports career in FIFA 21. EA Sports banned the gamer last week for a bad joke he made last December.

Official statement — @HarryHesketh

Fnatic and Harry have mutually agreed to part ways after his retirement from FIFA esports, allowing him to focus on his own career as a solo content creator.

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) January 23, 2021

During the match with Anders Weyrgang, Hesketh said: "His fingers may be fast, but mine are longer." The player later called this joke mum joke - when the author himself laughs at what is said more than those around him.

The gamer later apologized for the unfortunate joke, but Hesketh was still disqualified and suspended from the February FGS tournament. The official reason for the ban was: "Distribution of inappropriate and offensive content."

EA can ban you for literally anything. They can do what they want, when they want. This is not an excuse, I am not trying to influence their decision. But for a bad joke I was punished as severely as for racism.

 

If you are setting such a precedent for professional players, then I can easily find reasons to ban any ordinary world-class player.

Another problem was that Anders Weirgung is 14 years old, and an indecent context was found in Hesketh's joke. Weirgang himself did not see anything wrong with the joke, so he made it clear to the representatives of EA Sports that he had no complaints about his opponent. What kind of subtext we are talking about is not clear.

Nevertheless, the company decided to punish the e-sportsman.