TSM punish ZexRow for outburst in Ninja Fortnite tournament
TSMTeam SoloMid (TSM) have responded to the controversy surrounding one of their Fortnite pros, Anthony ‘ZexRow’ Colandro, that led to him seemingly being prohibited from playing in Ninja’s future Fortnite events.
Ninja Battles featuring Fortnite was announced on May 28 with the brand new event spanning six weeks and giving players the chance to win a slice of the $80,000 prize pool each time around. However, despite winning the first week of the tournament, TSM pro ZexRow has seemingly been banned from all future events.
This followed an explicit post-tournament interview, in which, the 19-year-old hit out at his fellow competitors, commenting: “Everyone that didn’t place in top 10 can suck my d***. They’re f***ing s****ers. I don’t know why they talk s***, they’re actually also dogs*** and braindead.”
Following the announcement that he would be prohibited from participating in Ninja’s future tournaments, ZexRow’s organization have now produced a lengthy statement condemning his actions.
“We are extremely disappointed in the comments made by Anthony ‘ZexRow’ Colandro and take this matter very seriously,” the statement reads. “Effective immediately, he has been fined one month’s salary. His behavior was absolutely inappropriate, and does not represent the values of TSM or our brand partners.”
They also confirm that the fine will be donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, a charity that works with young people across the United States.
“TSM echoes his apology to fans and the community, and he has expressed his sincere regret to us as well,” the response continued. “We will be providing ZexRow with professional counseling and training, helping him to work on how he conducts himself – both publicly and privately.”
Twitter: NinjaZexRow joined TSM in December of 2018, at the height of Fortnite’s dominance in the world of video games. While he remains a member of the organization, the statement confirmed that another similar incident would result in him being removed from TSM.
“That said, we have informed him that we have a no tolerance policy for this kind of behavior,” the org concluded, “and that we will be forced to part ways if something like this should occur again in the future.”
However, they noted that they “believe in Zex” and “have faith that with serious personal reflection and focus, he can move forward from this.”
Responses to TSM’s statement were largely positive, agreeing that the action taken is reflective of ZexRow’s mistake.
The organization has been clouded in controversy of late, surrounding the relationship between DoubleLift and Leena and a potential conflict of interest. The response to this particular issue, however, has been widely praised.