League of Legends pro Lu ‘Leyan’ Jue said he was just rocking out with his favorite oversized plushie. But Riot Games felt differently and fined the Invictus Gaming jungler nearly $7,000 and suspended him for two matches over footage of him humping a giant stuffed animal of Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear from Toy Story 3 during a livestream.
“In response to recent incidents in which IG Club player Lu Jue repeatedly acted inappropriately on the live broadcast platform, the League of Legends Professional Events Discipline Management Team has conducted an investigation,” a translation of the decision on the Chinese League of Legends events site read. “It was found that player Lu Jue attempted to violate the rules. His remarks and morally controversial behavior have caused negative impacts.”
As reported by Dexerto, a reaction clip to the livestream in question shows Jue wearing his headphones and aggressively thrusting into the face of the chair-sized red teddy bear. After a while, his headphones fall off, at which point he temporarily stops, puts them back on, and then seemingly continues humping the toy.
“It’s not what everyone thinks,” Jue later wrote on Weibo, according to a Google translation of the remarks. “The bear was too big. The music in the headphones was rocking at that time. I just thought the bear was cute, so I hugged it and shook it.” The message ended with two laughing sobbing face-palm emoji. The League pro also allegedly bet another streamer that he would vape onstage during a future match, which is against the rules in China.
“Recently, Lu Jue, a player of the League of Legends branch of the iG E-Sports Club, made inappropriate words and deeds many times during the live broadcast, which caused extensive discussions on the Internet and caused adverse effects,” Invictus Gaming wrote in a statement on Weibo. “The club educated and criticized him, and made the decision to deduct two months of salary.” The team is also facing a separate roughly $3,000 fine from Riot over the streaming incident.
The team’s statement continued:
As public figures, e-sports players’ words and deeds represent the image of the club and the e-sports industry. Active professional players should be more cautious in their words and deeds in public and set a good example. The club will continue to strengthen internal management, require players to regulate their own behavior, maintain a positive image of professional players, and jointly maintain a healthy and benign e-sports professional ecological environment.
As a result of the suspension, Jue will miss the first two matches of the League of Legends Summer Split which begins later this year. “No way the only series my goats lost this split is against teddy bear fucker,” wrote one fan on the League of Legends subreddit.
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