After a member of a local e-gaming team spoke about the hate he’s experienced as a Korean living in North Texas, the team’s owner is speaking out about racism and encouraging others to do the same.
Over the weekend Dallas Fuel player Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok shared on Twitch that he and his fellow teammates have experienced anti-Asian hate on a daily basis and described being coughed at or people shouting racial slurs.
The video posted in Korean was translated to English and shared on Twitter.
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In the translation, Lee said “Being Asian here is terrifying. Seriously. People keep trying to pick fights with us.”
Mike Rufail, Chief Gaming Officer of Envy Games and owner of the Dallas Fuel, took to Twitter to post his own video calling out racism and asking people to speak up when they see this type of behavior.
“[The players ]were confronted by numerous people on numerous occasions who made really racist remarks to them,” said Rufail in a video posted to his Twitter account. “No one should ever feel that their safety or their livelihood is in danger. They should never feel threatened. They should never feel bullied just because of their race. This is the most ridiculous thing.”
While Rufail said he wasn’t surprised about players having to deal with racism in American, he was surprised some of the incidents were happening right outside their headquarters at Victory Plaza.
Rufail said the organization is working to make sure the players feel safe and protected.
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Stop AAPI Hate has reported 3,795 hate incidents against Asian Americans in the last year of the pandemic. The majority of incidents involve verbal harassment and shunning, followed by physical assault. Stop AAPI Hate is quick to note the number of hate incidents reported to their center, represent only a fraction of what actually occurs.
Rufail said when these incidents happen it’s important to be vocal and speak out.
He believed the gaming community, which attracts players and fans from all over the globe, is willing to talk about hate and confront it.
“This is an issue that people are willing to talk about and battle,” said Rufail. “It’s something I think gamers look for the opportunity to step up. This is just another instance where we can raise a little more awareness.”
“I grew up here. I was born and raised in Texas, there might be a lot of negative outside connotations of the city of Dallas or the state of Texas because of things that happen like this,” Rufail said. “But I would still like to remind everybody that this is still a great city and a great state that is welcoming and inclusive and diverse.”
Wednesday evening the Dallas Police Department will host an Asian Town Hall Meeting at the 11500 N. Stemmons Frwy #160 to build a better relationship between police and the Asian American community. The event is from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
