The Meme Is Popular with Neo-Nazis
Update (10:23 PM): A spokesperson for The Overwatch League has responded to us and confirmed that the Pepe the Frog meme is banned from the league.
“The Overwatch League discourages the use of symbols and imagery which are associated with or used by hate groups, including Pepe the Frog,” the league spokesperson said. “At Blizzard Arena, it’s our policy that fan signs comply with this policy. We likewise ask the same of Overwatch League teams and players on their social-media channels.”
The title of this post was originally “Pepe the Frog Is Allegedly Banned in The Overwatch League” but has now been changed to “Pepe the Frog Is Banned from The Overwatch League” to reflect that fact that this has now been officially confirmed. Other parts of the story have also been edited to reflect this new information.
Pepe the Frog, a popular meme that is infamously used by Neo-Nazis and other racist groups, is no longer allowed to be used by players who participate in Blizzard’s professional league for Overwatch, The Overwatch League.
Rod Breslau, an eSports consultant, tweeted on Sunday that a professional Overwatch team, SF Shock, was told by Blizzard to tell one of their players, Jay Won, to delete a birthday tweet that had an image of the Pepe the Frog meme due to its popularity with the alt-right crowd.
SF Shock plays in The Overwatch League and represents the city of San Francisco, California in the eSports league.
“From what I understand, Blizzard reached out to SF Shock management to ask that [Won] take down his birthday tweet because it had a Pepe in it, which Blizzard is trying to crackdown on in regards to being potentially offensive,” claimed Breslau.
“Blizzard has recently removed Pepe signs in the OWL crowd and has requested other OWL players to remove Pepe-related memes and images from their social media accounts,” Breslau tweeted.
Breslau went on to say that he’s fully aware of the connotations surrounding the controversial meme but felt that this situation “could be handled better.”
“I am fully aware of Pepe’s adoption by alt-right and online Nazi groups,” Breslau said. “Professional players and representatives of OWL and other esports should be aware of this, and its connection to the current American political/cultural climate.”
What do you think of this new rule? Do you think Blizzard is justified in taking this measure in order to distance itself from the alt-right? Let us know your thoughts and opinions on this in the comments section below!