By Sagar V. Mankar A major setback has hit the Swiss esports community as the highly anticipated “Take the Throne” tournament, which was set to be Switzerland’s largest esports competition, has been abruptly cancelled. The cancellation stems from a controversial social media post made by the founder of the host team, leading to immediate backlash and the withdrawal of multiple participating teams.
The event, which was scheduled for November 23 at Geneva’s prestigious Batiment des Forces Motrices venue, centered around a popular vehicular soccer video game – Rocket League, where players control cars to score goals, had generated significant buzz within the esports community. However, the excitement quickly turned to controversy when BDS team founder Patrice Bailo de Spoelberch shared his personal views on abortion rights on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In his controversial post, Spoelberch suggested that women who choose abortion should forfeit their future rights to parenthood. The statement immediately drew sharp criticism from the gaming community and beyond, prompting three prominent teams – Gentle Mates, Karmine Corp, and Team Vitality – to take a decisive stand. In a unified response, these teams announced their withdrawal from the competition, citing an unbridgeable gap between their organizational values and the views expressed by the BDS founder.
Recognizing the severity of the situation, BDS quickly moved to distance itself from its founder’s remarks. The organization released an official statement emphasizing that Spoelberch’s personal views did not align with the team’s values or represent the perspectives of their players, staff, partners, or fans. The mounting pressure ultimately led to the tournament’s cancellation, with BDS announcing that “internal measures” would be implemented to address the situation.
Following the widespread backlash, Spoelberch attempted to rectify the situation by issuing a public apology. He described his initial statement as “extremely clumsy” and clarified his position, affirming support for women’s bodily autonomy and their right to make decisions about pregnancy. However, the damage had already been done.
This development comes at a time when esports continues to evolve from a niche interest into a global phenomenon, attracting attention from traditional sports organizations and mainstream media alike. International Olympic Committee, itself, is actively working to incorporate esports competitions into its future events with its first Esports Olympics Games, scheduled in 2025.
The incident may well serve as a case study for future esports organizations on the importance of maintaining professional standards and being mindful of social responsibilities in an increasingly connected digital age.
Source: ABC News