Scandal on the official LEC broadcast: On April 12, during the Team Heretics vs. Karmine Corp match, an inappropriate fan tag “NETENKYEAHOO” was leaked on the air. Riot Games has already responded with an official statement, and the viewer’s message output function appears to have been urgently disabled.
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How the Kyeahoo Meme Became a Political Issue on LEC?
The appearance of provocative comments on the screen is only a matter of time for any major esports event. The Sunday broadcast of LEC was no exception. The broadcast regularly snatches cues from the league’s Twitch channel and co-casters to show the live reaction of the community. This time, moderation has frankly failed.
The message “NETENKYEAHOO” was displayed on the screen. This is an obvious pun, crossing the surname of the Prime Minister of Israel and the nickname of the midlainer KC (yes, we are talking about Kyeahoo). The pun turned out to be, frankly, on the verge of a foul. In the age of post-irony, such jokes are quickly becoming a meta, but to let such a thing be broadcast live at a tournament that attracts an average of 150,000 viewers throughout the EMEA region? An outright failure of production.
Given the difficult geopolitical situation, including conflicts in the Middle East and the loud debate surrounding Israel’s actions, it is absolutely unethical to compare an esports athlete with a political leader in this way. Successful frags on the map are definitely not a reason for parallels with real military conflicts.
Medic, Dagda’s Reaction and Riot Games’ Deaf Defense
The Medical commentator had to take it out for a technical blunder on the air — it was on his shift that this incident fell. Later, on social media, he clearly stated his position: custer does not express support for this message. Dagda supported his colleague, reminding the angry audience of the base. The commentators at the microphones have no control over the bars that pop up on the broadcast.
After a wave of outrage, the LEC league released an official statement. We tried to get additional details from Riot Games about possible layoffs in the moderator team, but the studio refused to have a dialogue. No comments on top of the already published post.
What’s next? Fnatic vs SK is playing on the next monitor right now. There are no viewer messages on the screen at all. It seems that the organizers chose the most radical method of solving the problem — they simply pulled the switch.
