Nintendo released a statement today in response to all of the recent allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and other actions within the Super Smash Bros. community, condemning those acts in support of the victims.
“At Nintendo, we are deeply disturbed by the allegations raised against certain members of the competitive gaming community,” Nintendo said to IGN. “They are absolutely impermissible. We want to make it clear that we condemn all acts of violence, harassment, and exploitation against anyone and that we stand with the victims.”
Over the last two days, dozens of players, commentators, and other people within the Smash community have come forward with allegations of being assaulted, harassed, and manipulated by others within the same space. And in a lot of those instances, the abusers being exposed are people who held a lot of power within the Smash community.
Troy “Puppeh” Wells opened the floodgates for others to step forward on July 1 with his story about commentator and streamer Cinnamon “Cinnpie” Dunson. Wells alleged that Dunson “initiated sexual conversations” and later entered into a sexual relationship with him when he was 14 and she was 24.
Related: 2GGaming bans D1, Keitaro, Nairo, Cinnpie, and more following allegations
One of the next dominoes to fall was Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, one of the top five Ultimate players in the world, being accused of having a sexual relationship with 15-year-old former pro, Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth. Immediately after the accusations went live, Quezada deleted most of his social media accounts and was later released by NRG.
Likewise, T1 terminated its relationship with Jason “ANTi” Bates following allegations that he had sexual relations with a minor in 2016. Bates has since removed all of his responses to the initial accusations and will be consulting a lawyer before making any other statements.
Commentator D’Ron “D1” Maingrette was also mentioned in the allegations against Bates. Further claims from other individuals, however, involve him allegedly raping a woman at Smash the Record 2016 and further sexual harassment that dates back to 2014.
More stories of abuse are being shared each day. Nintendo’s decision to take a strong stance against those who assault, harass, and manipulate others might embolden more people to speak out.
