An Apex Legends match scheduled to air this weekend on ABC and ESPN has been cancelled in gentle of the current US shootings. Yes, Apex Legends. The cartoony battle royale game.
The cancellation was introduced in a letter addressed to channel associates and posted online by eSports guide Rod Breslau. It reads: “Out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings, ABC will no longer air “EXP Invitational APEX Legends at X Games” on Sunday, August 11, 2019 within the 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET / 1:00 – 4:00 PM PT time interval.”
The EXP Invitational Apex Legends match came about in Minneapolis earlier this month; nevertheless, an hour-long highlights present had been deliberate for Saturday on ESPN2 and Sunday on the Disney-owned channel. This would have been the game’s first main look on US tv. The match has now been changed by hockey documentary E:60 Forever Broncos.
Alas, ABC and ESPN now be part of the small however rising record of voices who’re trying to attract a connection between gaming and acts of mass violence.
Last weekend, President Donald Trump and two members of the Republican Party positioned the blame for the El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio shootings largely on the ft of the video game trade. “We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” said Trump at the time. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately.”
While that is the primary time an organization has pulled an eSport broadcast particularly due to home terrorism, it’s price remembering that there’s still no connection between video games and violence.
