[jwplayer p9g5um21]The San Francisco Shock has decided to suspend and fine Park ‘Viol2t’ Min-ki from its Overwatch League (OWL) lineup following a series of controversial slurs throughout recent Twitch streams.
A wide array of controversies have seen OWL talent punished publicly and internally over the years. Be it inflammatory remarks from star players or simple memes shared online, consequences often follow close behind.
San Francisco’s Flex Support recently came under fire for telling a popular streamer to “kill [himself]” on July 10. However, this toxicity was left unchecked as the organization failed to address the matter. Viol2t competed on behalf of the Shock just days later in a July 18 matchup against the Boston Uprising.
Following a second string of slurs on July 27, Shock has now acted and issued punishment for his behavior. Viol2t has been fined and suspended for his toxicity while streaming competitive games.
While the organization currently sits in third place in the regular-season standings, the team will be playing its next game one player down. Following the South Korean player’s second public controversy, Shock General Manager Chris Chung announced his punishment on the same day.
“Viol2t’s actions were not in line with what we expect of our staff and players in or out of game,” the Discord post read. There’s no telling how costly the first part of the punishment was, though Chung assured “Viol2t will be receiving a fine from the San Francisco Shock.”
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Secondly, the Support player will be forced to sit out from an upcoming Shock matchup as well. For the August 1 match against the Houston Outlaws, the team will have to rely on one of its substitutes.
“We will continue to work with Viol2t and monitor his in-game behavior closely to ensure this is the last incident of its kind.”
As one of the league’s leading teams, Shock currently has 10 world-class players under contract. Filling the Support role shouldn’t be much of an issue, especially with 2019 champion Grant ‘Moth’ Espe on standby.
At the time of writing, Viol2t is yet to issue his own personal statement on the matter.