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[Labolas]

I didn't see any thread on this and I know I'm late on this but I wanted more people aware of this.

A couple months ago, legendary fighting game player Lee Seon-Woo aka Infiltration was suddenly banned from different fighting game events and tournaments for alleged domestic disputes in South Korea several years back. Apparently, around the same time he had a stream where he flippantly used "forbidden" n-word furthering the animosity people have had for this guy. The said domestic dispute was just a slap on the wrist for him and was settled with and over in 2018. Flash forward to 2022, the man was fired from his sponsored team, banned from more than several tournaments, and ostracized within most of the community (specifically Street Fighter community). It seems like people are still holding him account to something that was over and done with in another country. People within the community have had a grudge against the man don't want to see him succeed and do well.

The clip of him saying the forbidden word:


Capcom's recent statement:

Infiltration's Twitlonger statement:
https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1ss1ls9

Personally, I think he did his time and should be allowed to compete and make a living. But it seems like ever since fgc has gone corporate and e-sports, the community has made a turn for the worse. It has become a place for hypocritical and hateful people who are not angels themselves. Now fgc has a fucking CoC. Makes me realize Mike Ross was right about the fighting game community going e-sports.

 

[PhaseJump]

The whole FGC smells like a diaper genie. A lot of it should be flushed down a toilet.

 

[DavJay]

People acted like he committed murder. Seriously, just let him back in after 2 years or so.

 

[The Pleasure]

Lots of white people happy that infiltration is gone since they can't fuck with him in game.

 

[anthony2690]

I think at this point, he should be allowed to play again.
I really don't like this online cancel culture thing.
Was it ever proven that he did or didn't attack his wife?

The other banned guy though, he can go die, bloody child predator.

 

[anthony2690]

Lots of white people happy that infiltration is gone since they can't fuck with him in game.

I don't understand why white people are more upset/offended by things, that are usually aimed at others. (That doesn't involve white people, it's genuinely embarrassing)

I remember resetera going mental, saying how racist or inappropriate Microsoft's "blacks in gaming" is.

Despite the fact it was a gaming group, created by the black community.

They literally pummelled the videos with downvotes and comments off how offensive/insensitive it is.

Crazy stuff.

 

[Labolas]

I think at this point, he should be allowed to play again.
I really don't like this online cancel culture thing.
Was it ever proven that he did or didn't attack his wife?

The other banned guy though, he can go die, bloody child predator.

There was bruising on his exwife's wrists and that was it. From what I heard, she used to fuck with his shit. Destroying his trophies and such. But he admitted to it so there isn't much to do. Sounds like abusive relationship regardless.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Didn't pay much attention to this stuff but from what I understand he got banned from CEO, Evo, etc. and no reasons were given, and still haven't been given . He did a stream on twitch talking about the ban, this led to him saying the N word when talking about racist jokes, and gave 2 examples, which got him banned on twitch. Then Capcom banned him a few days ago.

I think at this point, he should be allowed to play again.
I really don't like this online cancel culture thing.
Was it ever proven that he did or didn't attack his wife?

The other banned guy though, he can go die, bloody child predator.

What I heard was he told her he wanted a divorce, they got into a spat, he grabbed her wrist too hard when she was slapping him, she called the police and he plead guilty to bruising her wrist.

 

[Barakov]

This whole thing is pretty fucked with politics being at the center of it. From what I hear he was exonerated in the South Korean court but a lot of people are actually still taking it that he is a domestic abuser. I guess the term 'NuFGC' exists for a reason. Yeah, he shouldn't of said the N-word but an indefinite ban is a bit much I think. Esports and politics infesting gaming has been a net negative for it.

 

[anthony2690]

There was bruising on his exwife's wrists and that was it. From what I heard, she used to fuck with his shit. Destroying his trophies and such. But he admitted to it so there isn't much to do. Sounds like abusive relationship regardless.

You could indeed be right, but I can imagine if he was beating her or whatever, she wouldn't only have bruises on her wrists.
Could maybe be restraining her to protect himself? Who knows though

 

[Labolas]

Didn't pay much attention to this stuff but from what I understand he got banned from CEO, Evo, etc. and no reasons were given, and still haven't been given . He did a stream on twitch talking about the ban, this led to him saying the N word when talking about racist jokes which got him banned on twitch. Then Capcom banned him a few days ago.


What I heard was he told her he wanted a divorce, they got into a spat, he grabbed her wrist too hard when she was slapping him, she called the police and he plead guilty to bruising her wrist.

You'll never probably a legit answer. These people at the head of FGC and controlling the narrative are very spiteful people. These people are going for his wallet and livelihood

 

[ACESHIGH]

Since I am not American I don't understand why they say "the F word" or "the N word" and don't say the exact words... feels like something a kindergarten teacher would do to little kids.

 

[The Gamer Triple H]

I think this all came about after he won Evo 2019 in Samurai Shodown. There were quite a few fgc guys pissed off that he was allowed back after his domestic incident.

I think there are people within the fgc that have a grudge against infiltration for a while now, and this was unfortunately inevitable. Kinda convenient that they could say his ban was based on Code of Conduct violations but never really said what it was specifically. If they did, half of the fgc would be under fire. Hypocrites tend to be vague and this is another example of it.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Yeah the whole situation is messed up. I saw the stream where he said the N-word and F-word; something that's been left out is the context. He was mentioning about a kind of conversation he'd have with a close friend who may just happen to be black, and it was 'n---a' that he said, not in a harsh way either but as a joking way of endearment a friend with a bit of humor may have. Sounded almost like a line out of The Last Dragon one of the Asian guys would say to Bruce Leeroy. Again, context.

Not only that, he then made a self-depreciating joke of that same person then joking about him eating eggrolls and noodles (or something like that); basically, a kind of stereotypical joke someone might say to an Asian friend if the two of them like having some light edgy humor between them. He clearly meant it as something he'd only say as a light joke with a friend and wouldn't mind that same friend having a rub at his own expense back in return. If you're not that friend, you wouldn't say or do that kind of stuff and neither would he, that was kind of the point of what he was saying. I had a friend like that even beyond high school, it'd just be the kind of light edgy humor you'd have among friends but that's about it.

I don't even remember him saying the f-word in that stream, so I've got nothing to add there. Anyway though, I think the whole thing with the n-word is actually a ruse for some TOs to blacklist him for the DV charges a few years ago. I remember that stuff blowing up but the only evidence I actually saw come out from the Korean courts was him living a bruise mark on his ex-wife's wrist from grabbing her a bit too tight. That's it. I'm not saying he was in the right for that, but when you're in the heat of the moment arguing with someone there are WAY worst things you could end up accidentally doing than grabbing their wrist a bit too tight.

My thing is, he already did his time for this. If the courts felt he were guilty of any actual harm to his ex-wife, they would've ruled in her favor. He stepped away for over a year due to it all; if these tournaments, Capcom etc. wanted to ban him they should've done it before letting him come back and officially compete. This whole situation just seems really messy and kind of being done for disingenuous reasons, it's one of the reasons I've been conflicted with even watching the tournaments this year. At the very least, if what they felt he said in that stream, even when ignoring the context, was wrong, given it was only his first time they should've given him an official warning. Given they never actually banned him before when the charges came out, they can't technically use that as their "warning" since he volunteered to step away on his own accord.

Hopefully he finds some people in the community with connections to the inside (with the TOs of the tournaments, or Capcom USA staff; I don't think Capcom Japan has any part in this though I could be wrong) who can try doing him a favor and get back in to compete officially. There's just something like this that comes off as extreme gatekeeping and it's creating a really slippery slope. They need to give some kind of tiered system with warnings, punitive warnings before just outright banning players, especially for things that may be scummy but aren't actually illegal (or could have led to charges they then win against in court, in a way that proves their innocence). If they don't set some consistency they're going to make a lot of players eventually paranoid in some way especially if the bannable offenses become less and less severe (or more and more targeted).

 

[SenjutsuSage]

Personally as a black man I don't have a problem with what he said in that clip. I get what he was trying to say and explain, and it is indeed very common amongst friends even if they aren't black. Context is very important.

 

[nominedomine]

I thought ching chang chong was a music.

 

[Labolas]

Yeah the whole situation is messed up. I saw the stream where he said the N-word and F-word; something that's been left out is the context. He was mentioning about a kind of conversation he'd have with a close friend who may just happen to be black, and it was 'n---a' that he said, not in a harsh way either but as a joking way of endearment a friend with a bit of humor may have. Sounded almost like a line out of The Last Dragon one of the Asian guys would say to Bruce Leeroy. Again, context.

Not only that, he then made a self-depreciating joke of that same person then joking about him eating eggrolls and noodles (or something like that); basically, a kind of stereotypical joke someone might say to an Asian friend if the two of them like having some light edgy humor between them. He clearly meant it as something he'd only say as a light joke with a friend and wouldn't mind that same friend having a rub at his own expense back in return. If you're not that friend, you wouldn't say or do that kind of stuff and neither would he, that was kind of the point of what he was saying. I had a friend like that even beyond high school, it'd just be the kind of light edgy humor you'd have among friends but that's about it.

I don't even remember him saying the f-word in that stream, so I've got nothing to add there. Anyway though, I think the whole thing with the n-word is actually a ruse for some TOs to blacklist him for the DV charges a few years ago. I remember that stuff blowing up but the only evidence I actually saw come out from the Korean courts was him living a bruise mark on his ex-wife's wrist from grabbing her a bit too tight. That's it. I'm not saying he was in the right for that, but when you're in the heat of the moment arguing with someone there are WAY worst things you could end up accidentally doing than grabbing their wrist a bit too tight.

My thing is, he already did his time for this. If the courts felt he were guilty of any actual harm to his ex-wife, they would've ruled in her favor. He stepped away for over a year due to it all; if these tournaments, Capcom etc. wanted to ban him they should've done it before letting him come back and officially compete. This whole situation just seems really messy and kind of being done for disingenuous reasons, it's one of the reasons I've been conflicted with even watching the tournaments this year. At the very least, if what they felt he said in that stream, even when ignoring the context, was wrong, given it was only his first time they should've given him an official warning. Given they never actually banned him before when the charges came out, they can't technically use that as their "warning" since he volunteered to step away on his own accord.

Hopefully he finds some people in the community with connections to the inside (with the TOs of the tournaments, or Capcom USA staff; I don't think Capcom Japan has any part in this though I could be wrong) who can try doing him a favor and get back in to compete officially. There's just something like this that comes off as extreme gatekeeping and it's creating a really slippery slope. They need to give some kind of tiered system with warnings, punitive warnings before just outright banning players, especially for things that may be scummy but aren't actually illegal (or could have led to charges they then win against in court, in a way that proves their innocence). If they don't set some consistency they're going to make a lot of players eventually paranoid in some way especially if the bannable offenses become less and less severe (or more and more targeted).

Basically agree with everything you said and I think any rational and normal person would as well. Seeing the FGC being about politically correctness and cancel culture makes me want to stay away from it for good. This shit goes to smaller communities like fightcade and the such. And what's funny is that back the FGC was most non PC community to be a part of.

 

[Life]

One of the few remaining consistently good fighting game pros - and they kill him off all meaningful competitions. So many "big names" no longer make it anywhere near top 8 nowadays. It's disappointing to see him go.

 

[The Gamer Triple H]

Basically agree with everything you said and I think any rational and normal person would as well. Seeing the FGC being about politically correctness and cancel culture makes me want to stay away from it for good. This shit goes to smaller communities like fightcade and the such. And what's funny is that back the FGC was most non PC community to be a part of.

Fg related discords are the worst. They are filled with the type of weirdos that Era types would worship. Overly aggressive PC types that will cancel you in a moments notice for wrong think.

Things sure have changed since the Marvel 3, SF4 days.

 

[OsirisBlack]

Infiltration was always my N-word, (That early Nash tech) he wasn't being belligerent or racist he was stating how people talk in the community, and the fact that he got banned for it is pretty sad. People are so fucking sensitive nowadays. If you listen to Smug or the furry boys all they say is N-word this and N-word that. Don't even get me started on Low tier god. And before anyone points out that all of them are black so am I (mostly) it's still dumb that he got banned.

 

[OsirisBlack]

Do any of you guys actually play SFV if so anyone want to run a set of games? I main Zeku and sub Gil, Kolin and Rose.
Can play where ever you want PS5 or PC. Also looking for a match in MVCI I get matches but haven't lost in months .... Thor/Thanos also PC or PS5.

 

[Heart_Attack]

It's no secret that once identity politics, political correctness, me too, and other liberal shit reached the FG community, that no more fun would be allowed.

 

[Futaleufu]

Lots of white people happy that infiltration is gone since they can't fuck with him in game.

He may be the GOAT of the FGC, for them thats another reason to ban him from competition.

 

[Rykan]

Since I am not American I don't understand why they say "the F word" or "the N word" and don't say the exact words... feels like something a kindergarten teacher would do to little kids.

It's completely infantile. It's beyond hilarious how grown adults will say "The N word" with a straight face because they don't have the required skin colour to pronounce the word properly.

 

[Labolas]

Do any of you guys actually play SFV if so anyone want to run a set of games? I main Zeku and sub Gil, Kolin and Rose.
Can play where ever you want PS5 or PC. Also looking for a match in MVCI I get matches but haven't lost in months .... Thor/Thanos also PC or PS5.

Nah, I haven't played SFV since like season 2. Just GG Strive and a little bit of KOF on the aside. Xrd Rev2 if you got that. All on PC btw.

 

[OsirisBlack]

Nah, I haven't played SFV since like season 2. Just GG Strive and a little bit of KOF on the aside. Xrd Rev2 if you got that. All on PC btw.

I don't have GG but I'll go buy it now, I've got MVCI, MK11, SFV, and DBfZ PC.

Edited to add: Yea definitely grabbing it just check it out on the Steam store and I can hit a MOFO with a dolphin. I'm here for that shit.

 

[Roman Empire]

I don't like this new face for the FGC or any tournaments at all for that matter. This cancel culture is a little bit overblown. Of course, when someone fucks up there needs to be repercussion but not at the levels we have been seeing. Still, I think a permanent ban is kinda overdone.

 

[nush]

Since I am not American I don't understand why they say "the F word" or "the N word" and don't say the exact words... feels like something a kindergarten teacher would do to little kids.

It's the same as beeping a swear word on TV. Those words are not for everybody to hear in an environment with a huge diverse audience.

 

[The Pleasure]

Remember when punk got punked by the mexicans in kof 15 and he wanted to ban them?

 

[Futaleufu]

Remember when punk got punked by the mexicans in kof 15 and he wanted to ban them?

Then he went back to play SFV, where competition is easier

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Since I am not American I don't understand why they say "the F word" or "the N word" and don't say the exact words... feels like something a kindergarten teacher would do to little kids.

Canada and US have broadcast decency laws for network tv channels.

Ya, we get treated like retards because some reason a cuss word or flashing a tit is akin to the apocalypse of bad ethics.

Not sure where you live, but does your prime time network TV have nudity and swearing? In Canada (probably US too), you dont get that unless you're in Quebec (uncensored media), or you watch certain channels and at 11 pm all the uncut movie editions are shown.

For cable channels you pay extra for, it gets more lenient and they can do what they want.

 

[Pejo]

• Shave his head
• Grow a mustache
• Wear sunglasses and a cowboy hat
• Come up with a new handle
• Infiltrate a FGC event

...You see where i'm going with this.

If he wins, he could remove the hat and sunglasses, give everyone the finger, and walk out.

There, that scenario is 100x cooler than anything that's going to happen with this situation in real life.

 

[BreakOut]

Tournaments are sponsored right? This is kind of hard, because in truth I can’t honestly say whether he deserves to be banned. But I can say that they have the right to do so and if they feel like he will bring problems to the tournaments based on social issues I can’t really blame them.
Best way to go about it is just not say that word and not draw bad press. Look what happens to movie stars.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Infiltration was always my N-word, (That early Nash tech) he wasn't being belligerent or racist he was stating how people talk in the community, and the fact that he got banned for it is pretty sad. People are so fucking sensitive nowadays. If you listen to Smug or the furry boys all they say is N-word this and N-word that. Don't even get me started on Low tier god. And before anyone points out that all of them are black so am I (mostly) it's still dumb that he got banned.

Well, I wouldn't lump Smug in the same tier as LTG; LTG has a history of blatant racism against almost everyone. Players like Smug aren't like that at all. It's almost hard not to run into LTG saying some crazy stuff in a given compilation. Maybe they've scaled it back these days though.

Basically agree with everything you said and I think any rational and normal person would as well. Seeing the FGC being about politically correctness and cancel culture makes me want to stay away from it for good. This shit goes to smaller communities like fightcade and the such. And what's funny is that back the FGC was most non PC community to be a part of.

Yeah, that's the impression I got watching things like the OnBlast streams for a bit. Early FGC and into the 2000s was some wild wild west kind of stuff. But a lot of that trash talk came in the arcade, where at least if you got a little too crazy, you might've been paid back with a fist or two. But that also allowed for nuance in trash talk that got completely lost online, but still preserved in the tournament scene (until very recently when a lot of tournaments started doing online-only).

A lot of FGC's best moments are specifically because it's not very PC. That doesn't mean people are being scumbags to each other outside of the trash talk (well, most people, anyway. Like with any hobby or community you may get a few actual assholes who should get pushed out when they go too far, but the case that's the topic ITT is not one of those assholes), it just means they can have some colorful, sometimes edgy humor or theatrics with each other but be respectful at the end of the day.

This whole thing with pushing for eSports is causing some terrible growing pains.

 

[Davevil]

Who cares?

 

[Hoya Destroyer]

Cancelling such a talented player for such small transgressions is not a good thing.
Tournaments will be genuinely less exciting without Infiltration competing. People generally want to see the BEST players at these things.

 

[SeraphJan]

No matter what the charge is, guilty until proven innocent should never be a thing in our culture, it equals to witch hunt.

And accusing someone without proof should have a penalty, this way people will think twice before abuse the system.

Not everyone is as rich as Johnny, as an average person, his life is completely ruined

 

[Fermbiz]

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I get what he is saying, context is always important; let the man back in, he was always a good watch.

Do any of you guys actually play SFV if so anyone want to run a set of games? I main Zeku and sub Gil, Kolin and Rose.
Can play where ever you want PS5 or PC. Also looking for a match in MVCI I get matches but haven't lost in months .... Thor/Thanos also PC or PS5.

Sorry bruv, even though MVCI and SF5 are my nr 2 and 3 fighting games of all time, I haven't really played either of them in over a year, wouldn't give you any challenge.

 

[Skifi28]

They want to be considered athletes and taken seriously earning good money, while also acting like children on streams. You can't have it both ways I'm afraid, public image is important when you want to be a professional and sponsors will not touch you.

 

[Mess]

They want to be considered athletes and taken seriously earning good money, while also acting like children on streams. You can't have it both ways I'm afraid, public image is important when you want to be a professional and sponsors will not touch you.

How was he acting like a child there? He's just saying that context matters when using some words. The hypersensitivity on this kind of topics in the US just seems alien in most part of the world I guess. His whole tirade was pointless and he probably should have known better given capcom's focus on the US for all things esport but that still seems insane to be banned for that tbh.

That being said it's kind of funny that the guy whose tweet was embedded in OP is an F-tier competitor than prolly sees this as a step toward an eventual tourney win

 

[SkylineRKR]

Its also a culture thing at play, perhaps. In holland the n-word isn't as sensitive as it is in the US. Only since cancel culture and BLM it started to gain traction here but white and black kids alike would sing along the likes of Tupac and Dre and use it liberally in the 90's. There wasn't much thought behind it. There is a variation here thats always been seen as offensive as its been used by slave traders, but the English version was not on that level here.

So yeah, I don't know about Korea but you probably can't compare it to the US. This makes things difficult.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Current FGC isn't a home grown community to play games you care about by creators you like. The creators have taken up and control this space now for the bag. Current "FGC" is a lie.

Infiltration shouldn't be banned for this. This whole diversity shit they're going for... It was already there in the FGC. Blacks, Asians, Latino and Whites. All together to just play games and compete. There may have been some "toxic" moments but people get really into it and get mad, people forgave and moved on. Now everyone has to be made an example of. Sad.

 

[Kilau]

Depends, did she shit on his bed?

 

[lame gag1990]

He's a big name in the community so banning him can only bring in more viewers...

 

[Smokken]

I remember back in the days watching SF3/SF4 tournaments when people weren't a bunch of fragile weaklings, good times.

 

[OGM_Madness]

1. I believe the clip of him saying the N-word is after he was banned. People are using that as the reason he was banned, but he made that clip after the fact. They banned him, he gets mad, then the FGC is like "see? proof!".
2. Will Smith can slap someone on live TV and get 10 years off from the Oscars. I think Infiltration should be banned for 1-2 years then be allowed back. Let the guy reform or something. I think messaging is a big deal, there should be a public letter saying exactly why he being banned, is it because the N-word? Is it because the domestic violence charges? Something else entirely we don't know about? Racism is a big problem and they (the FGC) should be serious about it and domestic violence is also a big problem. However, if the domestic violence charges were dealt with in court and he paid his fines/did his time, then the FGC should either let that be his punishment or add a similarly-sized penalty.
3. If it was the domestic violence, wasn't that like 5 years ago? Why now bring it up? Didn't the FGC punish him before already? I remember he playing Samurai Showdown and it being a big deal because he was not allowed to play SF or something like that.

 

[Labolas]

Speaking of the N-word, The Pleasure 's boy, Punk, got caught saying the n-word and not nigga either, like Infiltration said. Sonic Fox went to bat for him and said that Punk can say it because he's black and he'll (Sonic Fox) boycott Capcom if they ban him, which doesn't surprise me, considering how he acts on twitter. Personally I couldn't give a fuck about the word and who's saying it but this is what fgc sowed.

 

[The Pleasure]

Speaking of the N-word, The Pleasure 's boy, Punk, got caught saying the n-word and not nigga either, like Infiltration said. Sonic Fox went to bat for him and said that Punk can say it because he's black and he'll (Sonic Fox) boycott Capcom if they ban him, which doesn't surprise me, considering how he acts on twitter. Personally I couldn't give a fuck about the word and who's saying it but this is what fgc sowed.

I would love to see Sonic Fox crumble like France if Punk gets banned and he withers like leaves on the vine when it comes to that E-Sports Money.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

People acted like he committed murder. Seriously, just let him back in after 2 years or so.

This is the cancel culture era there's no growing from your mistakes or moving on from the past, it's all about finding witches to burn at the stake.