Slasher condemns “exploitative” U.S. Military recruitment of CoD players on NBC

Esports consultant Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau made an appearance on Newsnation and was asked if gamers or Call of Duty pros make good soldiers. In response, ‘Slasher’ denied any correlation between war and gaming.

Military entities and esports have a well-documented history. In April, Richard Lewis, Dexerto’s Editor-At-Large, called on tournament organizer ESL to cease its partnership with the US Air Force.

USSA Insurance is a Call of Duty League sponsor, and the US Army was a sponsor before allegedly cutting ties amid the Activision Blizzard Lawsuit.

NewsNation invited ‘Slasher’ on to discuss why army recruitment is down and if CoD players would be a good fit to help the shortage.

Slasher urges esports community to push back against military

Senior National Correspondent, Brian Entin, asked the esports consultant if it’s a good idea for military recruiters to reach people through video games.

Slasher answered, “I find it exploitative. I find it insidious that these streamers are recruiting gamers and young people on Twitch under the guise of just playing video games, but they are really there as recruiters.”

Breslau said violent video games and military service correlate less than people think. He said violent video games, television, and music, are just forms of entertainment.

“People cannot expect pro gamers in Call of Duty to be adept at going into the military.”

The video game insider concluded by calling the esports community to action. He cited the community’s push back against Russian esports players and teams and Saudia Arabian money.

“We have to bring that same energy to the American military and not allow them and all of their money to come into our community without any pushback.”