FGC bans female Street Fighter Pro for inappropriate behaviour

As in any type of environment, really, the organisers of esports events have to take care in order to make sure that none of their attendees are harassed or otherwise bothered by other people. Sadly, usually, that means protecting female players and cosplayers from unwanted male attention, but not always – in this case, it’s a female player that got banned. It seems almost strange to read such a title among the esports news, but as you can see, males are not always responsible for such behavior.

Leah ‘Gllty’ Hayes was now banned from attending various events under the FGCs supervision, after ‘unwanted, inappropriate physical contact’ with past event attendees. The player is currently a participant in the second season of the Street Fighter League.

© Chris Bahn | PTBPHOTO

According to a tweet on the matter: “Due to recently collected information regarding unwarranted and unwanted physical contact between event attendees, Leah ‘Gllty’ Hayes will be barred from attending Combo Breaker LLC events until further notice.”

This announcement had a bit of a domino effect and effectively got her banned from other events under the FGC supervision. As for Gllty herself, she was brave enough to own up to her previous behaviour, and admit that she contributed to a toxic environment.

“I’ve flirted with a lot of women, and in more than once instance I’ve made them feel uncomfortable…” Leah Hayes said. “It’s my obligation to take responsibility. I’m not sure what to do next, but taking ownership of my own actions is the first step.”

She rejected the supposed defense from other people, even going so far as to tell them to question themselves why they are defending her. While it may be unusual to have a woman be subject to this sort of incident, it does set a positive precedent in this case, and shows that toxic behaviour is not to be tolerated, no matter who it comes from.