Update: EVO has placed Joey Cuellar on leave and has canceled EVO 2020 Online. I know this is likely frustrating to fans of the event, but canceling this event was the right choice due to the serious allegations.
https://twitter.com/EVO/status/1278573278118899712
https://twitter.com/EVO/status/1278859734099963904
Replacing Joey will be a long-time member, Tony Cannon, who will act as CEO for EVO going forth. Honestly, I hope this is a permanent change as Tony has always been a shining beacon of the fighting game community.
It stinks that this even happened, and I know everyone who is either part of the EVO staff or a company that has worked with them in some capacity are disgusted regarding the recent turn of events. The only positive about this is that this finally came to light and that Cuellar will get what’s coming to him.
It’s a shame that everyone who looked forward to this event, for either the fame, the money, or just to have fun, have to suffer due to one person’s poor decisions. Yet again, canceling the event is the right thing to do. Joey Cuellar has been the face for EVO for years, and with that, the brand has been tarnished.
As for the event’s future, the EVO team has acted swiftly to remove Joey (He still needs to be fired) and show the worse; they don’t condone his actions. I don’t doubt that EVO will recover, but it will also look to strengthen its relationship with fellow companies and fighting game fans.
One thing is 1000000% for sure, which will change the face of the FGC and for the better. This means that those who were wronged similarly will also have the courage to come out as well.
Original story below
EVO, one of the longest-running fighting game events, has been rocked this Thursday due to allegations of sexual misconduct against former CEO and co-founder Joey Cuellar. Fighting game veteran, Mikey “Crackpr0n” Pham, brought these past allegations to light.
According to Crackpr0n, Joey Cuellar had a nasty habit of preying on young boys at the then-popular miniature golf course/arcade, Southern Hills Golfland.
As soon as these allegations came to light, several companies were either sponsoring the fighting game event or had games included in the line-up, prompting pulling all support. This includes Capcom, Bandai Namco, Mane6, and Netherrealm.
— Mane6 Dev Team (TFH Official) (@mane6dev) July 3, 2020
— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) July 2, 2020
— Bandai Namco Esports (@BNEesports) July 3, 2020
We stand in solidarity with those who have spoken out against abuse. We will be pulling MK11 from EVO Online.
— NetherRealm (@NetherRealm) July 2, 2020
It wasn’t just companies that were pulling support, as the outspoken competitor who can back up his talk, Sonic Fox, announced he would no longer participate in the event. Skullgirl commentators Kai Kennedy and Sheila “Dapurplesharpie” Moore have also announced they would no longer participate with EVO Online.
Of course, following this was Joey Cuellar, who now is “apologizing” for his past actions. It would seem that because he was young and didn’t know any better is a viable reason for his past actions.
https://twitter.com/MrWiz/status/1278846403716866048
Obviously, this is enough to cause EVO Online to be canceled, and I suspect that we’ll see some major repercussions due to these recent events.
