The Fighting Game Community is Better Than Logan Sama

DJ Logan Sama is a man of many talents. From championing grime music in his native United Kingdom to providing play-by-play at some of the biggest Street Fighter events in the world, he’s left an indelible mark on everything he’s touched. Unfortunately, his tendency to spew hateful rhetoric in his dealings with people online have made him something of a burden, one that, unlike past incidents, needs to be taken care of internally before our entire scene must again answer for a single person’s actions.

Expanding on his local WinnerStaysOn events, the folks over at Capcom UK (most notably Street Fighter community manager Matthew Edwards, who has not personally responded to my outreach) partnered with Logan in late 2014 as a way to both connect with the surrounding community and showcase European talent. Over time, these WinnerStaysOn Sessions broadcasts have provided early looks at upcoming Street Fighter V characters and balance changes, making their appeal more worldwide than ever before. Logan’s presence in the community has expanded greatly thanks to these shows, and his talent for analyzing live matches with partner Femi “F-Word” Adeboye scored the pair constant on-air opportunities at major tournaments. Their most prestigious showing came at last year’s Capcom Cup, where they performed ably as the event’s official commentators.

It’s certainly admirable to see Logan’s hard work pay off in such big ways, and his contributions to the fighting game community have made him a high-profile figure when it comes to Street Fighter. This becomes an issue, however, if you take even the briefest of glances at his Twitter timeline. Apart from threatening physical violence on a player last year, Logan has insulted a woman due to the size of her breasts, made vaguely homophobic remarks about someone’s rainbow-themed Overwatch avatar, goaded folks into suicide for the terrible crime of wanting an arcade mode in Street Fighter V, and even made a horrendous joke about the Orlando nightclub shooting. It got so bad at one point that Logan was forced to delete an offending post (included below) by Twitter or face suspension.

This would be one thing if Logan was just a random jerk, but he’s essentially the face of London’s fighting game community. He’s made the remarks listed above while proudly displaying the Capcom Fighters tag in his Twitter bio, and his talents have been utilized as a regular marketing tool for Street Fighter V. As such, Logan’s hateful screeds against those that disagree with him reflect on the community as a whole. His continued involvement with the world’s most popular fighting game (at least in a competitive sense) is an embarrassment that, frankly, needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.

These actions came to a head this past January, and I took it upon myself to reach out to Capcom for comment on Logan’s toxic behavior. To their credit, Capcom was more than happy to speak with me on the matter, saying that they had touched base with Logan in an effort to put the issue to rest. He even posted a quick apology on Twitter.

“We’ve spoken with Logan regarding some of his recent comments,” a Capcom spokesperson told me at that time. “He has acknowledged that some of his responses were offensive and has assured us that he will be more careful in the future. Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with everyone associated with the Capcom Pro Tour to ensure that we are providing a positive and inviting environment to all of our fans.”

I was willing to give Logan the benefit of the doubt, and let this story sit. But as bullies are often wont to do, he couldn’t help but resume his schtick as soon as Capcom stopped paying attention.

As part of a discussion yesterday about commentary at the ongoing SXSW Fighters Underground invitational, prominent tournament organizer Andres “nothingxs” Velasco y Coll shared his opinion on Logan Sama’s work in a short tweet, no doubt influenced by the behavior mentioned above. Upon noticing the tweet hours later, Logan sent him a vaguely threatening response, deleted it, and then removed all doubt of his intentions with the quick follow-up included below.

Apt or not, the fighting game community is generally regarded as more “raw” than its eSports peers. Thanks to our beginnings in arcades, we’ve carried a unique swagger with us into the modern age of competitive gaming. For the most part, fighting game players are direct; there’s little dancing around an issue, big or small. While you can usually expect a winning opponent to remark on their victory in some way, you’ll also be hard-pressed to find someone who will outright dismiss your questions after the fact. We grow and learn as a community, and sometimes growing up means shedding a bit of that attitude for the greater good and not allowing bullies to hide within our midst.

Over the past few years, our scene has been the subject of intense scrutiny. This has, at times, been a simple consequence of the rapid growth fighting games have experienced since the release of Street Fighter IV. But in hindsight, some of the negative press we’ve received could have been avoided with a greater level of self-scrutiny. It shouldn’t be a surprise when a repeat asshole continues to act like an asshole, but we still somehow manage to collectively feign shock at the actions of community members that should have been addressed a long time ago.

The point I’m trying to make is that, in my opinion, Logan is a liability. While he has endeared himself to a segment of the community and even some of our most important leaders, it’s crucial that he isn’t used against us like so many others have been in the past. Speaking rationally and calmly with Logan has failed to curb his toxic outbursts, so the time may have come for Capcom to step in and do something about it. This scene, with its wonderful diversity and largely welcoming atmosphere, is better than Logan. It’s vital that we don’t let someone as hateful as him become a mouthpiece for the entire fighting game community.