Daycia (Day) 🌞 · @daylightful
2nd Jul 2020 from TwitLonger
Sexual Harrassment from Top Players/Commentators
I have been debating or not to come forth. It's terrifying, especially since a lot of these guys have a big following. I just pretended like nothing happen. If you don't know me, I have been in the smash community since 2009, before esports, before the glamour, before the money, and before women were treated as trophies.
I quit in 2017 because Smash wasn't anything like it was when I first joined. It became ugly. And I suffered a lot of abuse sexually and mentally. There are so many instances, but I wanted to share a few stories. Here they are:
First D1:
When we first met at Youmacon 2014, D1 and I became really good friends. To me, he was one of the closest friends in the smash community - or, so I thought. Eventually D1 would get touchier and more flirtatious. If you know me, I had a genuine love for the game. I was in the scene to compete, to win, to become a top player. I had no interest in dating or doing anything with anyone. I would go to about 5-10 events a year.
D1 would get touchier and touchier with each event and I would begin to reject him.
Then came around Pentagon in California, D1 was going a day early and suggested I could stay with him at his room. Cool, smashers share and split hotel rooms all the time right? We shared a King size bed, so I figured we'd just sleep on opposite sides - innocently thinking. D1 suddenly got naked and said that he likes to sleep naked usually. I thought it was strange and I did feel uncomfortable, but it was him room and I didn't have a place to go. Maybe it would be okay, we are friends right? He knows I am not interested and wouldn't try anything, right? We will just sleep, right? So we are in the bed on opposite sides, him naked and me fully clothed. As I tried to fall asleep, D1 would approach me with his body. I told him I was uncomfortable and I didn't want to do anything. He pouted, but after a while he gave-up and went to sleep. However, after that night D1 acted completely different towards me. He started to ignore me and was completely cold to me. Why? All because I didn't sleep with him? I thought we were friends? I was so hurt from this instance. But looking back, it's emotional manipulation.
Top Commentators and one Drunk Girl:
Genesis 2017. I will never forget this. There was a room full of top commentators, including Keitaro and D1 as well as Noel Brown (an FGC player known for sexual harassment of women, but why are they all together? Why are these guys friends?). Anyway, all of these men were all over one girl, who was obvious very drunk. I accidentally stumbled by, but I was shocked on what I saw. The guys were flirting heavily with her, and she was obviously very drunk. They then tried to get her into the bathroom and close the door behind them, all of them together. I tried my best to speak out against it, but I was kicked out. Afterwards, Noel Brown came out, harassing me verbally and threatening me. Combo Breaker the year before, he attempted to try and get sexual with me, some guy I never met. I told only a couple of top Smash players at the time, but I guess they told him that I spoke to them about it. The thing is, sexual predators STICK together. I felt betrayed. People who are friends with D1, I guarantee you they did something similar, and they all STICK together. They have each other's backs and keep quiet about any sexual harassment. I guarantee you that they probably knew about Nairo too, but kept quiet.
I had no one to confide it. At the time I was friends with Static Manny who was there with me (whom will also betray my trust), and we left the hallway of the hotel room together to avoid Noel Brown. I had to catch my flight and left soon after. I have no idea what happened to the girl. But I was so disgusted and shocked that I never wanted to go to a smash tournament again.
Static Manny:
Another one who I thought I was friends with. CEO 2017, although I didn't enter the tournament but because I lived in Orlando at the time I wanted to visit and meet the legit friends I had. Static Manny being one of them - or, so I thought. We were playing Mafia with Scatt and his friends. Randomly, some guy started to be weird and trying to force me to take a picture with him during the game. Thankfully, Scatt and friends shooed him away. I was a bit stressed so I went outside to take a walk, Static Manny followed me. I confided in him A LOT about sexual harassment. I was talking to him about that weird guy, and while we were talking he proceeded to try and force a kiss from me. I was SOO upset, because I always talk to him about my constant abuse within the community and here I am, vulnerable, and he tries to do something to me. Afterwards, he would message me constantly on FB and Twitter because I star
After that, I knew for sure I can't trust anyone in the community anymore. I was constantly being harassed and I felt there was genuinely no safe space. No one to talk to. No one to confide in. I quit smash and never looked back.
DC (the tiny DC, not the bigger DC):
I remember the first time I met DC, it was early Smash 4 stage at Youmacon. DC at the time, was trying to get into my pants. I constantly rejected him. Since then, he would consistently emotionally abuse me at every event. He would ignore me, he would say things about me, he would purposely not include me in things (we all had the same friends), and in many other ways would make me feel bad. Why? Because I didn't sleep with him. It was SO childish. Why am I being punished for not having sex with my "friends?"
There are so many instances with so many people I don't have enough energy or space to call-out everyone. Some apologized, some we stopped talking, some we pretended like nothing happened.
But who can you trust? Who?
Remember what happened at Beast with Lolex? I stayed with him. He didn't do anything to me, but he hurt other women. Who can you trust anymore? I can't even be in Sweden for a smash event without being in the same space with a predator. It seemed everyone was doing something wrong.
You literally can't trust anyone. I was mentally exhausted. So I quit and never looked back.
I kept quiet for so long- I don't even play Smash anymore, but with everyone coming forth I also feel safe enough to do so. Thank you.