Splyce Responds to Norskeren Racial Slur Controversy
Spylce has released an official statement to Dexerto regarding recent revelations revolving around an alleged racist slur being used by one of their LEC players, Norskeren.
In the statement by Vice President of Global Content and PR Paulo Senra to Dexerto, the team noted that,
“We’ve taken actions right away on this matter. We deleted the video once we were made aware of the situation. We also immediately got on a call with our player to discuss the matter and its impact. He acknowledged his mistake and has publicly apologized for it. This in no way reflects our teams, players or our organization. We at OAM will continue to focus on creating an environment that is inclusive, equitable and respectful.”
Norskeren also released a statement on Twitter apologizing for the comments and claiming they did not “reflect who [he is] as a person.”
The Controversy
The controversy started after Splyce uploaded a video-documentary piece showing the team’s operations and practice behind the scenes in which one of the team’s scrims can be seen.
The chat log clearly shows Norskeren using a shorthand spelling of a highly racial charged slur in a comment chain towards his opponents, and almost immediately after being caught sparked outrage in the community. Many called for Norskeren to be severely punished for his actions.
Splyce let him off with a warning for the incident, while Riot has yet to issue a statement or ruling as to whether he broke any of their official league rules and what punishment he’d receive if he has.
Controversial Words by Players
The controversy is the latest to hit the gaming world after a slew of streams and chat logs released this past year have revealed a concerning amount of racially charged comments by big-name streamers and pros.
TF Blade famously was banned from Twitch this year for alleged racist remarks, which led to Liquid CEO Steven Arhancet promising to investigate the allegations and determine the fate of the streamer in connection with their team.
No punishment has been revealed in that case as of the time of this writing. Indirect punishment could come in the form of doors closed for both him and Norskeren in the future.
Many orgs have been wary of picking up controversial players that could negatively impact their brands lately. Some are avoiding Call of Duty pro Fero for remarks made in the past. 100 Thieves has avoided big-name signings solely because of inappropriate comments they’ve made in the past.
Whatever the outcome, the remarks are sadly not the first, nor will they be the last such comments made by high-profile players in the industry and will likely become more the norm as their public profile rises further in time.
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