Overwatch Pro's Teabagging Gesture Sparks Controversy

One of gaming’s oldest insults made an appearance in an Overwatch League match and ignited [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

One of gaming's oldest insults made an appearance in an Overwatch League match and ignited controversy after a professional Overwatch player teabagged his opponent.

Made popular by multiplayer games throughout the years, teabagging, for the uninitiated, is the action of crouching repeatedly over another player's character to make it seem as though you're lowering your crotch onto their (usually) lifeless body. It's something that most gamers are probably guilty of trying at least once in their gaming career, but some didn't take too well to seeing pro player Jae-hyeok "Carpe" Lee of the Philadelphia Fusion doing the deed to a downed opponent.

The clip above comes from Saturday's match between the Philadelphia Fusion and the Shanghai Dragons. After putting down Shanghai Dragons' Gi-hyeon "Ado" Chon in a Tracer vs. Tracer battle, Carpe literally added insult to injury by bringing the business down on the enemy Tracer's defeated body. Audience members attending the professional match booed Carpe for the action and Twitch chat was filled with viewers saying "fined," "banned," and more creative variations such as "Carpe BM." Twitch's messages appeared half-jokingly like they usually do, but if you look to the rest of the Overwatch community, it was clear there was some truth to the messages that decried Carpe's teabagging gesture. There were also those who made light of the moment and said that it wasn't as big a deal as others insisted.

Esports analysts and casters weighed in on the topic as well. Overwatch League caster Mitch Leslie responded to Overwatch League desk analyst Josh Wilkinson's tweet that LOL'd at the fact that Carpe was booed and said that Shanghai Dragons didn't deserve any special treatment in this situation. Leslie said in a follow-up tweet that he wasn't condemning the booing of Carpe and said that fans should express themselves as they feel necessary, within reason.

The Overwatch League has had no shortage of punishments levied against players who engage in out-of-line conduct, but there has been no announcement of a fine or any similar action against Carpe at this time.

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