ELiGE exposes racist CSGO pros at Depth Esports, gets them kicked

Fariha Bhatti Published 09/02/2021

Depth Esports has released its entire roster after Team Liquid’s Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski shared evidence that proved the former players’ problematic behavior outside of the server.

Toxicity in casual Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches is usually brushed off as dark humor. Valve’s meek attempts at handling such toxicity haven’t changed much, enabling players to run wild. Since the game has become free-to-play, even more players are abusing the chat feature, spewing hate against enemies and teammates alike.

A similar instance was observed on Twitter when a user posted a screenshot of a CSGO chat. A player named snav had left extremely insensitive comments for the opponent.

sick player you got there @DepthEsports
“you guys were not raped as children” -snav
this is the future of NA csgo pic.twitter.com/8YN9xHzqYV
— sin (@sinxoxo_) February 8, 2021

The screenshot was a typical toxic chat that could be found in any CSGO game. However, as the post gained traction, it reached numerous CSGO players including top pro EliGE, who revealed that he knew the player in question. The Team Liquid rifler clarified that snav was actually a professional player from Depth Esports, a team that was playing in FPL Circuit.

The player further highlighted that snav and his teammates frequently used racist and sexist jokes both in and outside the server. He backed his claims with a series of screenshots, exposing foul language used by Depth Esports players in a discord chat.

damn I actually didn’t know all the timbermen/depth esports MDL kids were in FPL. Some of the most toxic, racist people I’ve ever come across in my life in pugs.

If any @FACEIT admin looked at any of their chat logs in pugs you’d be floored by the shit they say lmao. yikes
— Jonathan Jablonowski (@EliGE) February 8, 2021

Depth Esports players removed from FPL Circuit

It was evident from the screenshots that the squad casually used derogatory terms. It’s unfit for any professional player backed by an organization to use such language, and so repercussions swiftly followed.

While Valve may overlook such problems among its players, a FACEIT product manager took notice and removed Shane “shane“ Dressler, Wyatt “snav“ Phillippi, Derek “dare“ Brown, and Havok from FPL Circuit.

“Sorry it took longer than necessary. What they say and how they have acted towards others even outside of FPL is unacceptable. We are continuing to look into other people/similar behaviours with the FPL players and will take similar actions,” product manager Amir said.

The Depth Esports organization was quickly caught up with the turmoil and posted an official statement on the matter. The organization cut ties with all the players on account of behavioral issues.

Regarding our Counterstrike team: pic.twitter.com/hWyPal3hCZ
— Depth (@DepthEsports) February 9, 2021

Founder of Depth Esports Jonathan’ Levitee’ later clarified that Ethan “reck“ Serrano wasn’t directly involved in the current drama. Still, the decision applies to the entire team including reck in order to prevent “further casualties.”

Depth Esports players’ issue culminated on a good note only because a CSGO professional player touched on the subject. While the players were kicked out of the pro scene soon after their actions were brought to light, it’s disheartening that most toxic players continue to get away with their behavior in-game. Valve may want to develop better strategies to detect and discipline offensive players.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

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