EVO Online 2020 Cancelled Due to Sexual Abuse Allegations Against CEO - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 July 2020 / 1,996 Views
EVO Online 2020 has been cancelled due to the sexual abuse allegations against CEO Joey Cuellar. He has been removed from the company altogether and has been replaced with new CEO Tony Cannon.
Before the cancellation many companies had withdrawn their participation. This includes Capcom, Bandai Namco, NetherRealm Studios, and Mane6.
EVO Online 2020 was set to begin this weekend, July 4, and run every weekend until the end of the month.
"I'm sorry," said Cuellar via his Twitter account. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I was young and reckless and did things I'm not proud of. I have been growing and maturing over the past 20 years, but that doesn't excuse anything. All I have been trying to do is become a better person. Once again, I'm truly sorry."
Read the full statement from EVO below:
Over the past 24 hours, in response to serious allegations recently made public on Twitter, we have made the first in a series of important decisions regarding the future of our company. Effective immediately, Joey Cuellar will no longer be involved with EVO in any capacity. We are currently working towards his complete separation from the company and have relieved him of all his responsibilities.
Going forward, Tony Cannon will act as CEO; in this position, he will take a leadership role in prioritizing greater accountability across EVO, both internally and at our events.
Progress doesn’t happen overnight, or without the bravery of those who speak up against misconduct and injustice. We are shocked and saddened by these events, but we are listening and committed to making every change that will be necessary in making EVO a better model for the stronger, safe culture we all seek. As a result, we will be cancelling EVO Online and will work to issue refunds for all players who chose to purchase a badge. We will donate the equivalent of the proceeds as promised to Project HOPE.
— EVO (@EVO) July 3, 2020
I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was young and reckless and did things I'm not proud of. I have been growing and maturing over the past 20 years, but that doesn't excuse anything. All I have been trying to do is become a better person. Once again, I'm truly sorry.
— Joey Cuellar (@MrWiz) July 3, 2020
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Giving out tokens to teenagers and young adults to jump into a pool in their underwear just doesn't seem like too big of a deal to me. I know there is other stuff, but that's the thing I see mentioned the most. Is there substantially more serious stuff than that that's causing this guy to lose his career?
That is a sad occurence and sadly to common.
That stuff is definitely unprofessional, but it seems more like a young asshole talking shit than a real attempt at making the other guy do anything. I guess I just don't see it as being as big deal of a deal as something like "suck my cock or you'll never get into major tournaments again.".
