- Daniel Walsh, a member of the esports organization known as FaZe Clan, was indefinitely suspended by the group after he said a racial slur on a live stream.
- Walsh, known as FaZe Dubs, will undergo sensitivity training, along with all FaZe Clan members, as a result of the incident.
- “FaZe Clan will not tolerate any form of hate speech,” a statement from the group read.
- Walsh has apologized for using the slur.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Daniel Walsh, known online as FaZe Dubs, a popular Fortnite streamer on Twitch and member of the FaZe Clan esports organization, was suspended by the group Saturday after he was heard using a racial slur during a live stream.
“FaZe Clan will not tolerate any form of hate speech,” the statement read. “It is imperative for us to foster an inclusive environment in this community.
“Due to his actions, we are suspending Dubs indefinitely from representing FaZe Clan while in professional competition, streaming, or posting on his social channels,” the statement continued. “We are requiring Dubs to go through sensitivity training and proactively requiring all FaZe Clan members to go through sensitivity training immediately.”
A statement from FaZe Clan regarding Dubs. pic.twitter.com/0lSlUEL5J7
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) February 29, 2020
In a screen capture of the Twitch stream, Walsh can be heard saying the n-word. Immediately afterword, another person can be heard offering a panicked response.
"Yo! I'm streaming! I'm streaming! I'm streaming," the person responds.
In a statement, Walsh admitted to using the slur and apologized.
"I can't even describe how sorry I am," Walsh tweeted on Saturday. "I did not intend to be hurtful in any way but what I said was still hurtful, insensitive, and wrong. The word shouldn't have been in my vocabulary and I apologize from the bottom my heart to everyone I offended by using it. You deserve better."
Reactions to Walsh's apology have been a mixed bag.
"Just learn from your mistakes kid, take it as a lesson in life and learn from it," one person said to the teenager, echoing the thoughts of many other of his fans.
"You f-----g idiot," another said in a tweet that got about 100 retweets. "That word only slips out if it's a go-to in your normal vocab anyway. I've never 'slipped that word out' and most other folks haven't either. Go donate some money to an African American charity if you're truly sorry.
As ESPN reported, Walsh, who is 17 according to Famous Birthdays, was signed by FaZe Clan last year and qualified for the solo and duo divisions in the Fortnite World Cup.
The current FaZe Clan scandal is not the organization's first, and probably not the last, as esports continues to grow in popularity worldwide. As Insider reported in November 2019, a popular FaZe member - Jarvis Khattri - had been permanently banned by Epic Games after he was accused of cheating.
FaZe Clan did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
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