Blitzchung controversy
The company cited a rule that prohibits Grandmasters players from offending the public, making political speech or impugning Blizzard's image.
[1] Blizzard additionally terminated the contract with the two stream casters that had been conducting the interview, "Virtual" and "Mr. Yee"; they believed the two had been encouraging Blitzchung to express his message, and thus also running afoul of the rule.
[10][11] Some criticized the weight and impact of Blitzchung's ban as an unfair treatment when compared to lesser penalties that Blizzard had placed on Overwatch League professional players for vulgar statements and gestures on camera.
[15][16][2] On Twitter, the hashtag #BoycottBlizzard trended worldwide, with notable participation of former Blizzard employee and World of Warcraft team lead Mark Kern,[17][15][18] who showed he was canceling his subscription to his own game.
[30] Business Insider ran a headline stating "Furious fans are hitting back at Blizzard by using one of its characters in anti-China memes after the gaming company punished a pro gamer for defending the Hong Kong protests.
[38] In later interviews, Brack asserted that Blizzard will not wholly remove the bans, citing the importance of keeping its broadcast focus "on the games" while reiterating "it's not about the content of Blitzchung's message".
[40] Brack led off the opening ceremonies by accepting accountability for the initial ban against Blitzchung, stating, "We didn't live up to the high standards we set for ourselves and we failed in our purpose".
[41] It was noted that Brack was careful not to mention "Hong Kong" specifically in his apology, but promised to improve and let Blizzard's actions speak louder than their words.
We wouldn't ban or punish a Fortnite player or content creator for speaking on these topics", a message also shared by its CEO Tim Sweeney on Twitter.
[45][46] Lee Shi Tian, a Hong Kong professional Magic: The Gathering player, expressed support for the protests at a major championship a few weeks later, and was not penalized by Wizards of the Coast.
