Female pro gamer fired for insulting men

Tanukana – a professional Tekken player for Osaka-based Cyclops Athlete Gaming esports team – has been booted from the roster after she made disparaging comments about short men during a live stream.

Described by some as a rising star within the Japanese esports scene, Tanukana said during a recent stream that “men who are under 170cm (About 5’5”) don’t have human rights” and should look into getting bone-lengthening surgery. 

Some have argued that Tanukana’s remarks have been somewhat misinterpreted, as the word for ‘human rights’ in Japanese (jinken,人権 ) is also gaming slang meaning an ‘essential item within a game,’ but nevertheless her statement has caused an uproar within the Japanese gaming community. 

After receiving feedback, saying her stream contained hate speech, Tanukana wrote in a now-deleted tweet that she did not intend to offend anyone and that she poorly expressed her love of tall people. But while she did apologize, this was deemed insufficient.

Her esports team, Cyclops Athlete Gaming, also issued an apology following the stream, writing that Tanukana “made an improper remark on a stream” and that Cyclops “sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to the fans, sponsors, and other related parties who support us on a regular basis.”

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Tanukana issued a second apology, writing “As a professional esports player and as a member of society, I deeply regret and apologize for betraying you,” but she was nevertheless fired from the Cyclops team.

The Japanese gaming scene has recently become a lot more formal and has attracted a lot of sponsors after “pro gamers” were officially recognized in Japan, allowing people to acquire licenses to pursue gaming as a professional career. 

According to Japan’s Esports Union, one of the main features that defines a pro gamer is “self-awareness of being a professional” which is why Japanese esports teams have been particularly careful with how their players conduct themselves, and do everything they can to avoid controversy which could scare off potential sponsors.