Riot Games Reverses Punishment For 'Say Trans Rights' Naming Ban
Riot Games has reversed its decision to ban a player from having the in-game name of "Say Trans Rights" - after they originally forced the League of Legends account holder to change their alias for "pushing the narrative" upon other players.
Riot Games Originally Forced 'Say Trans Rights' To Change In-Game Name
Popular content creator "TBSkyen" took to Twitter to share a screenshot which detailed a conversation between one of his discord members and a Riot Games Support member regarding the League of Legends account's name becoming forbidden.
In the image, the gamer said they had been "repeatedly harassed and abused by bigots" in-game and that having to change their name would be the opposite of endorsing human rights.
Riot's Support member originally stood by the ban, saying, "You are perfectly fine to have a name that states you being or support trans rights, but what we're doing with this is pushing that narrative on other people who may not necessarily feel the same way."
"I know it sounds silly, I know it does," continued the Riot employee. "Unfortunately the policy is the policy", they added, before offering a free name change as compensation.
Riot Games Reverse Trans Naming Ban Following Backlash
As the tweet began to circulate and receive a wealth of support from the community, eyes turned onto Riot Games, with accusations of "supporting bigotry" being cast in their direction.
The support team soon responded again, amid backlash from the content creator, their discord community, and the wider gaming sphere.
"This is a misunderstanding of our policy. We’ll get it changed back and make sure we follow up with all agents to do a better job of explaining what is and isn’t appropriate," explained Riot.
The matter has seemingly been resolved, although it doesn't strike well for Riot Games to have employees enforcing these rules, especially as pride month is fast approaching and they will roll out a range of LGBTQ+ support gimmicks.