EA Sports has canceled the final three qualifier events for its “Madden NFL 19” esports tournament after Sunday’s shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, in which two competitors were killed.
CEO Andrew Wilson cited “a comprehensive review of safety protocols for competitors and spectators” in a statement announcing the cancellations.
https://twitter.com/openomroep/status/1034439378171351040
“We’ve all been deeply affected by what took place in Jacksonville,” Wilson said Monday night in the news release. “This is the first time we’ve had to confront something like this as an organization, and I believe the first time our gaming community has dealt with a tragedy of this nature. Please take time to support each other through this challenging time.”
Wilson pledged to “work with our partners and our internal teams to establish a consistent level of security at all of our competitive gaming events.”
Two Madden NFL players, Eli “True” Clayton and Taylor “SpotMePlzzz” Robertson, were killed in the incident. Andrew Williams stated that both players were “respected, positive and skilled competitors, the epitome of the players and personalities at the heart of our community.”
This is definitely the right move, give everyone time to grieve, and figure out how to proceed. I’m thinking new safety protocols will be in place to prevent any incident like this ever happening again.
