• POLITICS
  • SCIENCE
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Biology
    • Geology
    • Environment
    • Medicine and Health
    • Sociology
    • Psychology
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Virtual Reality
    • Bionics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Engineering
    • Robotics
    • Space Exploration
    • Transport
    • Industry and Service
  • GADGETS
    • Mobile Devices
    • Wearables
    • Consoles
    • Hi-Tech
  • GEEK CULTURE
    • Gaming
    • Comics
    • Thingamajigs
  • MUSIC
  • SOFTWARE
    • APPS
      • Android
      • iOS
      • Windows
  • HARDWARE
  • CARS
  • REVIEWS
  • Advertise
  • Geek Reply Jobs
  • Contact Us
Geek Reply
  • HOME
  • Editorials
  • Geek Squad
  • GeekReply Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Google+

  • LinkedIn

  • RSS

Gaming

Transgender Players Banned From Participating in CS:GO ESL Tournament

Transgender Players Banned From Participating in CS:GO ESL Tournament
blank
Zach Riley
May 5, 2017

CS:GO has a thriving competitive scene, and remains at the pinnacle of competitive eSports. The game has a huge following, and recently the ESL Tournament launched a female-only league to encourage diversity in their competitive community. Many will argue that creating female-only leagues for a non-physical sport is counter-intuitive, but the practice is also seen in such games as Chess which are typically male-dominated. the creation of female leagues allows women to compete who would have been pushed out of a male dominated sport. Regardless of your views on the existence of a female league, there’s definitely a problem when a league designed for women and to increase diversity bans a team of women who desired to compete. A team of transgender women were just banned from ESL and told they could be “penalized for faking their gender”.

The fact that ESL is banning transgender players from competing in competitive CS:GO is problematic, as transgender men and women face opposition and discrimination just for living as their true gender every day. To be banned from an activity at which they excel and have practiced for extensively is especially heartbreaking. Team leader Sly Buehl Rigilio expressed her disappointment in an interview with Buzzfeed, saying “Gaming has always helped me cope with the burden of not being able to express my true feelings fully…As you’ve probably heard, we’re not very welcomed in this community, at least among the average player. [But when] I met a group of other transgender girls, things started to look up from there”

The team planned to start playing CS:GO competitively, sending in an application to participate in the 5-on-5 Female Open Summer 2017 tournament hosted by ESL and organized by Munich Finest Gaming. They received a response that they had been declined and were accused of faking their genders to get a competitive edge.

After outrage from an online community, the organization backtracked a bit and said that the transgender team would be allowed to compete if they could provide pictures of their passports with a female gender listed. This is still problematic, as while many transgender people are living as their true gender, many haven’t gone through the administrative process necessary to make it official on their passports.

This rejection is especially surprising, as ESL in cooperation with Intel founded the Anykey foundation, committed to “a long-term vision of a gaming community that is welcoming to all players, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, religious belief, background, or physical appearance.”

A recent update from PVPlive.com states that Anykey has come out against the choice to deny these transgender CS:GO players, stating:

“Regardless of what it says on your passport or ID, or what judgements people may want to make about who they think you are, at AnyKey we believe in a policy of “you are who you say you are.” This means that anyone who self-identifies and lives as a woman should be able to participate in any women-only tournament.”

Whether this disapproval from Anykey will sway the decision of ESL in the direction of allowing these players, it’s still disappointing to see this issue again in the CS:GO community which has a history of not being exactly welcoming to those who are different.

Post Views: 550
W3Schools
Related ItemsCounterstrike: Global OffensiveCS:GOeSportsfeaturedLGBT
Gaming
May 5, 2017
blank
Zach Riley

As Editor here at GeekReply, I'm a big fan of all things Geeky. Most of my contributions to the site are technology related, but I'm also a big fan of video games. My genres of choice include RPGs, MMOs, Grand Strategy, and Simulation. If I'm not chasing after the latest gear on my MMO of choice, I'm here at GeekReply reporting on the latest in Geek culture.

Related ItemsCounterstrike: Global OffensiveCS:GOeSportsfeaturedLGBT

More in Gaming

blank

According to a Digital Foundry Analysis, Dead Space PS5 is the “best-in-class” game

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Steel Seed, a stealth action game, has a moody PS5 announcement trailer

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

On the first anniversary, Dying Light 2 Support is Detailed and the Dying Light Series Ships 30 Million

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

In the new PS Store Critics’ Choice Sale, 350 PS5, PS4 games are discounted

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Patch 1.03 for Dead Space on PS5 eliminates visual issues

Zach RileyFebruary 1, 2023
Read More
blank

Xbox, Nintendo, and Sony Allegedly Skipping E3

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

In the Final Fantasy 7-Themed PowerWash Simulator DLC, Scrub Guard Scorpion Clean

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

Activision CEO of Blizzard says Last of Us HBO Shows Why Buying Microsoft Is A Good Idea

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
blank

Sony reportedly cuts its projected sales for the launch of PSVR2 by half

Zach RileyJanuary 31, 2023
Read More
Geek Reply

Greetings techies! We are Geek Reply, a website whose main goal is to bring you all the latest news and updates from within the industry and beyond. What can you expect to find here?

Professional journalism coupled with expository writing for the most part, but we also give our honest opinion or throw in a pinch of humor for good measure when we deem it necessary. Our team is comprised of enthusiasts from across a wide variety of fields ranging from smartphone junkies to camera nerds, and everything in between. But perhaps you were looking for your daily dose of science news or hoping to read about the latest apps. If that’s the case, don’t worry, you came to the right place.

GeekReply Secured with GeekReply Scured
Nintendo Switch GeekReply

Copyright © 2022 GeekReply - Webdesign & Marketing - iPublicitate

Chinese Government Forces Blizzard to Reveal Drop Rates In Overwatch Loot Boxes
Star Wars: A New Direction
wpDiscuz