Korean gamer Lee Eui-seok describes racism in US: ‘Being Asian here is terrifying’
- People in Texas ‘cough on us’, shout racist slurs and keep trying to pick fights, says the Overwatch player, who competes for Dallas Fuel
- Lee says he goes out in his esports jersey hoping that people won’t bother him as much when they realise he is on a team
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Published: 12:50am, 9 Apr, 2021
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professional video gamer has described the “unspeakable” racism he has suffered while based in Texas in a clip that has gone viral on social media, sparking condemnation of the abuse.
The United States has seen a surge in anti-Asian violence in the past year, which activists have blamed on former president
rhetoric, especially his repeated description of Covid-19 as the “China virus”.
Lee Eui-seok, who plays the game
for the team Dallas Fuel under the name Fearless, said in a Q&A on streaming platform Twitch that this was the first time he was experiencing such racism.“Being Asian here is terrifying,” the 22-year-old said. “People keep trying to pick fights with us … There’s even people who cough on us. They’ll deliberately cough on us. They’ll [curse at us] … while laughing.”
“The racism here is no joke.”
A clip from the broadcast was posted with English subtitles on Twitter on Tuesday by Jade “swingchip” Kim, a Korean gamer and manager of the team Florida Mayhem.In his broadcast, Lee said one way he avoids the abuse is by going outside in his team’s jersey.
“Sometimes … I wear my team uniform around on purpose,” he said.
“If I have my jersey on, I think they realise we’re part of some kind of team so they don’t bother us as much.”
