Well this is about people.  I would allow everybody to join the event.   But if someone from USA/Germany/Belgium/Japan/China/SOuth Africa or whatever comes in and say death to Israel I would ban the person.  If someone comes in an says fuck you Europe/USA for your weapon support to Saudi Arabia that has led to ten thousands of victims in Yemen I would also ban that person.

South Africa was banned by themselves because they were basically  like White>>>>>>Black.  And the team and players even said they didn't want to play against BLACK teams.  I personally would not invite a friend to dinner who acts that way. I understand that someone can be angry towards someone with a different political view but angry because he has a different colour....Well bye bye.

With Thanksgiving/Xmas dinners coming up most families will have the golden rule 'don't talk about politics' if you do it only ends up ruining the evening, apparantely a lot of families don't celebrate it together anymore. 

Seriously? I'd argue the opposite. Real gamers care about human rights and tend to have an anti-authoritarian bent.

This isn't the freaking climate change or abortion debate.. This isn't a "political stance." It's not a controversial one. It's a city of downtrodden citizens fighting for basic human rights against an oppressive communist government that literally beats and shoots protestors in the streets, and has ACTUAL concentration camps for "undesirables" like Muslims (Uighurs). And if Blizzard is going to sacrifice their soul just to pocket a little extra change then they're dead to me. That's dirty money as far as I'm concerned. I know as a souless corporation $$$ is the ultimate bottom line but jesus christ, do you draw the line ANYWHERE. Peronally I'd rather be homeless in the street than sell my soul and fill my pockets with dirty money. And wtf why do these guys feel the need to be Chinese bootlickers all a sudden? Is the Western capitalist market full of hundreds of millions of potential consumers not enough??

If a team or players denounced the evils of North Korea at the Fifa World Cup do you think they'd get away with it? You don't use sporting events to make political statements against a government. It doesn't matter if the message is right or wrong, or if it is popular or not popular. You don't do it.

It doesn't matter how my written words sounded to you after i've clarified. House rules. It is that simple. You also shouldn't access company compound with a sign in your hands to tout political messages. What do you think will happen if you do this at your place of work?

Diablo 2 retail aged like shit. I only play it because of some very good mods, like Annihilus and Reign of Shadow. Median XL is ok.

It's not like the dude just shouted this statement. He was asked about it was he not? 

And yeah - they should denounce them if asked! What the hell would they be worried about? Trade sanctions? Good riddance! Military retaliation? Let em try! Would only show their insecurity and make them look worse in the eyes of the world. I just don't understand why anyone, particularly American businesses, give this oppressive, backwards government the time of day. We don't need their $. And frankly we shouldn't WANT it. 

No he did just shout the statement. Someone posted a literal translation of what the casters said to him before:

"Casters: You can just say that 8 characters and then we stop talking about anything. You can start at any time.

blitzchung: Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our age!"

Basically it seems they just asked him if he had anything he wished to say.

Basically it stems down to one thing, you don't use a platform given to you by someone else to make political statements against another nation and it's government. Sports and by extension Esports should be an escape, friendly competition where other BS can be put aside.

Organisers of events shouldn't have to deal with political fallout and put in a position like this.

Well no, but in general i don't like it, especially if you have a fecked up crowd and a player playing at home then you get something like 'Osaka saying sorry because she dares to win against an USA player in USA'. 

You are right about South Africa but what I was trying to say   'if I am a speedrunner and write 'I don't want to play against black people' I will probably get banned from speedrunning events' and people will say I banned myself because I dare to say stupid shit'.

Again, I do not view expressing the verbal support of a group of citizens fighting for basic rights as a "political statement." It's a statement of humanity. Others may disagree with this, but I certainly see it this way, and Blizzard should too. 

I guess I just don't see where this "fallout" would come from? China? Good riddance! Blizzard shouldn't want to do business with them if that is their attitude in expressing support for basic human rights, and like, not getting beaten or shot up in the street by what's essentially a fascist government.

Again, why does an American company give a shit about China in any capacity? Especially considering doing so has seemingly caused a backlash of 90% of your Western audience. So now you've lost your core audience. The people that brought you to the level you're at in the first place. Terrific - so you essentially HAVE to rely on the Chinese to keep your brand afloat. A market that resides in a communist regime (which means the government can manipulate the market as it sees fit), and a market which is largely untested compared to the West.. Smart move, Blizzard! 

If you think this is going to have a notable impact on Blizzards sales of new games, you're wrong. This will blow over and people will forget about it and move on.

I'd be interested to see if there is any history of a Video Game Boycott causing substantial damage. Borderlands 3 boycotts sure did a lot didn't they?