Blizzard has finally decided to ban three college Hearthstone players after they held up a "Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz" sign during an official livestream of competitive play - but the decision comes after days of silence, despite the fact that the players, representing American University, even suggesting they should have been banned in the same manner that blitzchung was. For those unfamiliar, blitzchung is the Hearthstone pro who found himself at the center of a community-wide controversy after he was banned from play and stripped of his prize winnings for giving a post-victory interview where he expressed support for the Hong Kong protests currently on-going in China.
Blizzard has since bristled from fan outrage and severely scaled back on the punishments delivered to blitzchung, allowing him to keep his prize money and reducing his suspension to six months, but it has done little to help the company's public image. Many pointed to American University's protest, which was cut away from during the livestream but otherwise went unaddressed, as clear evidence that Blizzard was playing favorites - when China is watching, action is merited, whereas a western team appeared to get away with it unscathed. The team members noted that inequality and, in the case of one member in Casey Chambers, resulted in the player stopping Hearthstone and beginning to play a competitor in God's Unchained.
Now, though, Blizzard has at least established some consistency in its punishments, handing out six month bannings for each member of the American University team. In a letter to Chambers that he shared on his Twitter account, Blizzard stated that while the company "strongly encourage[s]" members of the community to express themselves, the company also maintains that an official broadcast is not the place to announce views and opinions such as the ones that American University and blitzchung both voiced earlier. Chambers' tweet is interesting because he's actually celebrating the fact he was banned, praising the fact that nobody is being treated differently within the context of Hearthstone and Blizzard rules:
With that said, Blizzard's response is still late, and is likely another response to prompts from the community, which believed American University's treatment was suspect. It's also done little to repair the company's ailing image, with players still upset over the situation at large and BlizzCon looming at the beginning of November. With just a short few weeks before the convention begins, the company will likely need to begin addressing its decisions and its policies to a community that is still thirsting for answers.
Until then, though, it appears American University got its wish, and the support for blitzchung and Hong Kong hasn't gone unnoticed by fans. With competitors like God's Unchained looking to make moves by establishing its support for public protests while giants like the newly announced Legends of Runeterra are coming in 2020, Hearthstone - and Blizzard's - prominent position in esports appears more threatened now than it has ever been before.
Source: Xcelsior_hs/Twitter