The Super Smash Bros. esports community has been front and center in an industry-wide upheaval against sexual misconduct, pedophilia, and other untenable acts that has been all over the Internet. Multiple members of the Smash Bros. fighting game community were accused of various allegations this week, including one of its biggest names: Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios.
Barrios was accused of sending inappropriate pictures and making sexual advances toward minors by a number of individuals, and earlier today he came out with a statement that the accusations are "generally true," though he claims he was unaware of the victims' ages at the time and believes there were no graphic images involved. The esports team hosting Barrios, Tempo Storm, also came out with a statement today saying that it will be severing ties with the Smash Bros. player after reviewing the statements and going through a "comprehensive internal investigation."
Tempo Storm says Barrios was transparent during the investigation and confessed to the allegations levied against him. In its statement, the group also says it will be connecting Barrios to rehabilitation resources and offering other members of the community "professional support." In another post on Twitter, Barrios said he will be "permanently banning" himself from Super Smash Bros. events in any capacity because, "I don't deserve to be there ever again after all this."
The large-scale EVO Online fighting game event meant to begin today was also canceled following allegations against former President and Organizer Joey Cuellar that led to multiple developers pulling out and Cuellar's ultimate firing. Nintendo was a sponsor of EVO Online despite Super Smash Bros. Ultimate not being a part of its lineup, and after the cancellation, a spokesperson came out to express Nintendo's distaste and condemnation of "certain members" of the community who were violent toward, harassed, and exploited others.
Nintendo has historically separated itself from the fan-driven communities around games like Super Smash Bros., and these recent allegations are a good indication of why. With the recent release of Ultimate's DLC character Min Min from ARMS, it would undoubtedly be a PR nightmare if any accused top-level players were officially endorsed by the company.
Similar allegations and controversies have been made beyond the individual level with Super Smash Bros. players like Barrios. EA and Ubisoft have recently been in the news for large-scale reports of sexual assault and harassment, and in response, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot announced structural changes to combat this toxicity.