The Philippines' Esports community on Monday was outraged over the two-week suspension of mobile legends pro player Duane “Kelra” Pillas, saying the local league's sanction was not enough as retribution for his homophobic and sexually harassing remarks that went viral.
On Sunday night, stream video clips of 16-year-old Kelra, a player from Team Omega, went viral for containing homophobic remarks directed towards Blacklist International duo Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario.
Kelra was also caught making unwanted sexual comments towards Thai ML player Chareeny “Ramella” Ramella, who made history early this year as the first and only female player in the Mobile Legends' Southeast Asia Cup where he won the championship and was awarded MVP.
In response to the matter, Mobile Legends Professional League-Philippines released a statement that contained their decision to suspend the rising star. They also fined him an undisclosed amount, noting Kelra violated two of the playing season's rules: Rule 12.3.3, Sexual Harassment, and Rule 12.3.4, Discrimination and Denigration.
Following MLP-PH's announcement, Ramella said on Facebook she would go through an indefinite hiatus, saying 14 days weren't enough and that she has yet to receive formal apology from the team.
"Only 14 days ban without any apologies from the teams sexually harassment acceptable policy of his team? Or is it an okay thing to do in Philippines?," she said.
"As a female player, I don’t feel any reassurance," she added.
The #MPLDoBetter hashtag soon trended across social media platforms, as the local Esports community backed her and the Blacklist duo.
"Emphasis on the 'severity and seriousness of the violations', yet you 'lightly' impose a 2-week suspension for sexual harassment and discrimination. Allowing Kelra to still play this upcoming season just sends a clear message about how you belittle these issues and his lewd behavior as an organization," female Mobile Legends recreational player Dell Young said in a post, demanding more accountability from the league.
"I can’t imagine how traumatizing the situation and the lack of actions from the management are for the victims. Clearly, the MPL league is not a safe space for everyone after-all," she added.
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