Yahoo News 'League Of Legends' Sponsorship With Controversial Saudi Megacity Draws Backlash
The company behind the competitive online video game “League of Legends” faces criticism after revealing plans of a tournament sponsorship with Neom, a planned $500 billion Saudi Arabian megacity spearheaded by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Riot Games revealed news of the partnership on Wednesday, announcing that it coincided with the ongoing 2020 League of Legends European Championship (LEC), which began in January and is scheduled to run until September.
In its statement, Riot called Neom “a new community that will be the home and workplace for more than a million citizens from around the world who want to be part of building a new model for sustainable living, working, and prospering in Saudi Arabia.”
The company said the city would join the likes of Kit Kat, Kia Motors Corporation and Alienware as sponsors for LEC, which represents Europe’s highest level of competition for professional League of Legends players.
.@NEOM joins #LEC as a main partner for Summer:https://t.co/BW1KBNnApa pic.twitter.com/3iMyvhVWxG
— LEC (@LEC) July 29, 2020
Conversely, the Neom project has been described by Foreign Policy magazine as bin Salman’s vision of a “high-tech dream city to be populated by global vacationers.” An estimated 20,000 members of the Huwaitat tribe have been displaced from their homeland in northwestern Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province to make way for the city’s construction, and in April, an activist named Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti was killed by Saudi security forces, allegedly for protesting the displacement.
Citing these controversies, members of the “League of Legends” community were quick to criticize the partnership. Many also noted bin Salman’s alleged involvement in the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the crown prince has denied.
Those speaking out included “League of Legends” commentators James “Stress” O’Leary, who is gay and said that the game was associating itself with a country that criminalizes homosexuality ― an ironic twist considering that on the same day as the Neom sponsorship announcement, the official Twitter account for LEC featured a stylized LGBTQ+ flag.
The founder of NEOM is Mohamed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and Deputy Prime Minister.
He is responsible for 48 beheadings within jan-apr 2017, detention of human rights/LGBT advocates, and for the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Nice move, LEC.— Kalytis (@Kalytis_) July 29, 2020
I cannot express how frustrated and disappointed I am with #LEC today.
— Medic (@MedicCasts) July 29, 2020
The league I cover is now promoting a country that would kill me just for existing. Feels great.
— James ‘Stress’ O’Leary (@StressCasts) July 29, 2020
Imagine having to be part of the on-air broadcast for @LEC (who have a fucking pride logo) and pretending you're ok with NEOM. I know a lot of the on-air talent personally and I know this will sicken them and I feel really sorry for them.
You need to strike.— 😷 Husker 😷 (@HuskerIE) July 29, 2020
Tried to find nice words to express my feelings of today's news. Couldn't.
This sucks
It sucks for the #LEC
It sucks for my friends who are casters
It sucks for those who are LGBT
It sucks for esports as a whole
Thought we were better than this— Ovilee May (@OvileeMay) July 29, 2020
Riot Games has yet to offer an official response to the outcry, but “League of Legends” lead gameplay designer Mark Yetter was one of the voices within the company to express his disappointment on Twitter, writing: “Sponsors are essential for the esport to thrive, but not at the cost of human life and freedoms.”
I can't and do not personally support this partnership.
Sponsors are essential for the esport to thrive, but not at the cost of human life and freedoms. https://t.co/LJUbKbCeZq— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) July 29, 2020
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
