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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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A South Korean 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.
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The United States has seen a surge in anti-Asian violence in the past year, which activists have blamed on former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric, especially his repeated description of Covid-19 as the “China virus”.
Lee Eui-seok, who plays the game Overwatch 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.
Kim said she too had experienced racism in the United States, and told The Washington Post that Lee’s comments “gave me whiplash”.
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