Japanese ‘Apex Legends’ players are being banned for ‘hateful conduct’ for saying ‘run’

December 21, 2021

Some gamers are allegedly being slapped with a “hate speech” ban for using their native, non-English languages while playing EA’s “Apex Legends.”

Wrongfully banned: Posting on r/KotakuInAction, a Reddit user recently shared a screenshot of the message one “Apex Legends” player received from EA in October, informing them about the reason behind their ban, according to Bounding Into Comics.

“We want to notify you that we have found your EA Account to be in violation of our Rules of Conduct,” the screenshot read. “While reviewing your account, we identified the following violation: Apex Legends, Hate Conduct.”
In the post, Reddit user u/Tesg9029 claimed the Japanese player spoke their native language while playing the game and said “nigero,” which translates to “run” or “get out of here.”
A Japanese player faced the same ban in February 2021 for using the same word while playing “Apex Legends,” Dexerto reported. The screenshot, shared by Reddit user u/1zana in r/apexlegends, showed that the player’s account was suspended for 168 hours (1 week).
The player was allegedly telling a teammate to run and said “nigero,” assuming the other players were also Japanese.

Other players: “Apex Legends” players of other nationalities, such as Indonesian and Spanish gamers, have also been banned while playing.

An Indonesian player was banned in July for saying “nggak” (“no” in English), Reddit user u/skyvlan shared. In their email, EA said the player violated their Rules of Conduct for “Inappropriate Reference – Hateful Speech (Directed).”
Spanish-speaking players shared the same sentiment in the comments section, detailing how they can not say the Spanish word for black, “negro,” while playing “Apex Legends.” In an ironic twist, RT noted that Octane, a Spanish-speaking hero in the game, uses the word in his voice lines.
However, incidents like this also happen outside of the game. A University of Southern California professor was suspended for using “那个” (pronounced as “nà-ge” or “nèi-ge” depending on one’s dialect), a Chinese filler word, during an online class in September 2020.

Featured Image via Apex Legends

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