NORTHEPTION terminates TenTen following racist remarks

Racist and discriminatory statements have absolutely no place in the esports industry, particularly when they come from players who possess a significant following and wield influence. This principle was recently upheld with the termination of Kim "TenTen" Tae-young from NORTHEPTION, as officially announced by the team through a statement on Twitter.

TenTen bursts into racist remarks on fl1pzjader's stream

TenTen was introduced as a part of NORTHEPTION’s roster in November 2022, and has competed for the team in the Challenger League Japan where he contributed to the team’s placement at the 5th-6th place during both Splits. However, this performance wasn’t enough to warrant them a spot at the Ascension tournament and their season came to an unfortunate end.

As the statement highlights, the player in question invoked racist comments at a distribution on July 4, which was during a livestream of Saibani "fl1pzjder" Rahmad, a member of Rex Regum Qeon’s roster. Both players were on the same team and communicating through the voice channel during the match. Initially, they engaged in a spirited argument about each other's statistics, but the situation escalated when TenTen directed a derogatory term, referring to fl1pzjader, who is of Indonesian descent, as a "fking Indian." Subsequently, TenTen proceeded to further reinforce a highly offensive stereotype in the chat, as depicted in the accompanying screenshots. RRQ's In-Game Leader (IGL) promptly condemned the racist comment, leading to reports of the incident spreading across Twitter, with users expressing their discontent over the exchange.

Upon becoming aware of the situation, the team immediately initiated a thorough investigation into the matter, recognizing the gravity of the issue. After a careful examination of the evidence and taking into consideration the player's discriminatory behavior, they made the definitive decision to terminate his position within the roster. The team explicitly stated that they have a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination or violence, reaffirming their commitment to maintaining an inclusive and respectful environment. In light of this incident, the team also expressed their intention to implement measures aimed at raising awareness and preventing similar incidents from occurring in the future.