Valorant streamer demands Riot permaban teammate over sexual assault threats
Instagram: taylorrmorgann__A Twitch streamer posted a clip of a Valorant game in which a teammate made a disturbing comment that caused her to quit the game. Now, she’s calling on Riot Games to do more to protect its players in voice chat.
Taylor Morgan, an Australian Twitch streamer who plays FPS titles, posted a clip from a recent Valorant game in which a teammate asked her if she “knows what rape feels like” and if “she wants to know.”
Her post also called for Riot to do more than just suspend players who say similar things in the game.
“Nothing will ever stop these men from acting this way until hardware bans go into play. They should never be able to play the game again. I know you hear us. I know you see us. If this goes unpunished I am taking this as an active act from you that you do not give a single f*** about any of the women and minorities that play your game, and I will rally to boycott,” Morgan said.
Morgan later posted an update, revealing she had been given an in-game penalty for leaving the match.
Other creators have commented on the clip, calling for Riot to hold the players accountable for their comments to Morgan.
“You NEED to hold players accountable for voice comms or things like this will keep happening. I’ve played before and it’s like the Wild West, anyone can say whatever they want,” EAFC creator ‘Gara’ said in a reply.
This is not the first time a streamer has been targeted in Valorant voice chat with sexist or sexual comments.
Riot has taken steps to “combat disruptive behavior” in Valorant, even going as far as recording player’s voice communication during matches. However, Morgan’s clip shows that threats and sexism still occur in the game’s voice chat.
Riot Games, via its Executive Producer Anna Donlon, responded to the post by apologizing to the streamer and saying the player who issued the threats has had “actions taken” against them.
A Riot Games spokesperson told Kotaku that the penalty against Morgan has been removed.
“We’re constantly evaluating our internal systems to move swiftly against disruptive behavior,” the spokesperson told Kotaku. “As much as we invest in them, unfortunately, our systems will never catch everything so we have to be willing and ready to take corrective action manually when needed.”