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The 'Super Smash Bros.' Community Reckons With Sexual Misconduct Allegations - WIRED
Jul 10, 2020 3 mins, 58 secs

From the most celebrated Smash Twitch streamers to longtime tournament champions and local heroes, the Smash community is reeling from a series of dark revelations.

Dozens have come forward on Twitter to describe alleged grooming, sexual assault, and statutory rape they’ve experienced from Smash pros and commentators, some of whom have hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitch and YouTube.

But in interviews with WIRED, competitive Smash players and fans say the community’s informal structure, egalitarian ideals, and multigenerational appeal have all inadvertently contributed to an unsafe environment.

It just matters what character you play and what value you bring,” says Smash player Nico “Ryobeat” Rodriguez.

On July 1, a Smash player who goes by Puppeh wrote a Twitlonger post describing an alleged sexual relationship he had with Smash commentator Cinnamon “Cinnpie” Dunson when he was 14 and she was 24.

On that same day, a player who goes by Mikey alleged on Twitter that Joey “Mr.

Samuel "Dabuz" Buzby, Competitive Smash Player.

Smash player Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth wrote a post describing how, when he was 15, he had a sexual encounter with top player and Smash Twitch streamer Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, who was then 20.

(In 2019, former top Smash player Elliot Bastien “Ally” Carroza-Oyarce, who was in his late twenties, retired after admitting he had a relationship with Lauth, who was still a minor.) And Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios, the best Smash 4 player and top Smash streamer, allegedly harassed Smash community member and artist Jacqueline "Jisu" Choe with pornographic images when she was 15, and also flirted with another girl, who goes by Katie, when she was also a minor.

In interviews with WIRED, Smash players and community organizers say that the incidents stem in part from the competitive scene’s open ethos and porous structure.

Over the course of the Nintendo franchise’s 21 years, Smash fans have meticulously assembled a worldwide network of competitive play.

Launched from parents’ basements and local churches or community centers, Smash’s esports community is the product of passionate players who yearned to connect IRL.

(In a statement, Nintendo said it is “deeply disturbed by the allegations raised against certain members of the competitive gaming community. They are absolutely impermissible,” and adds, "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.") Smash is scrappy, a quality many cherish.

Large gaming conventions like PAX and TwitchCon have been central to allegations of sexual misconduct in gaming more broadly, and it’s impossible to say whether Smash experiences more alleged sexual misconduct than other esports ecosystems.

“There’s nothing separating us because it’s grassroots,” says top Smash player Samuel "Dabuz" Buzby.

In 2018, a contingent of Smash players and fans published a community code of conduct.

As competitive Smash expanded, and local tournaments ballooned in size, organizers wrote, “local TOs [tournament organizers] were left to handle huge communities without any directions or set standards.” Players could report incidents of misconduct to an affiliated email address.

The Smash community also has unique age dynamics; players who got into the franchise back in 2002 are thrown in the same room as younger players only getting competitive with its 2018 iteration.

(Some top Smash players earned their laurels when they were minors.) Random competitors and fans will ask for a hug, Buzby says, or to sign something.

Lexane "Exile" Sirac, a French Smash player, says she believed recent allegations more readily than men in her community.

At the same time, sexism and a detached attitude toward experiences of marginalization may have normalized misconduct in the Smash community, sources say.

“It was very popular to use words like ‘rape’ frequently, like, ‘Oh, you really raped that person in-game,’” says Emily “EmilyWaves” Sun, who cofounded Smash Sisters, a series of events that supports women in the Smash community.

Speaking out online against a well-loved top player could provoke a tidal wave of harassment from their fans, victims feared.

Speaking out about misconduct, she says, is different: “If you try to do anything, you’re called a clout-chaser or a thot,” a derogatory term synonymous with “hoe.” Even though she’s well-known and respected among Smash players, Choe says, she received significantly more harassing messages than she expected after describing what allegedly happened between herself and Barrios.

Smash tournament director Bassem "Bear" Dahdouh says that he’d like to offer colored wristbands, like the ones provided at all-ages concerts, to designate players’ ages.

Community leaders could field concerns and discuss them with tournament organizers, who could potentially ban players from events.

“This is a super cool opportunity for Smash Brothers players to get ahead of the curve where we can lead in the change,” says Sun

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