Macaiyla says LoL ban unfair because Tyler1's behavior is much worse

William Davis Published 21/11/2019

Popular Twitch streamer and Instagram model Macaiyla is making an appeal to have a banned League of Legends account restored. She says that the ban, which was for toxic behavior, is illegitimate because her actions were no worse than those of her boyfriend, streamer Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp.

Macaiyla’s LoL account “HYPUHS” was banned over a year ago. A chat log was included in the streamer’s ban message citing her toxicity. The chat log highlights Macaiyla blaming her teammates for throwing a game and begging her opponents to end. The most repeated transgression was Macaiyla spamming “open,” a term that means to leave the mid lane unprotected to allow the enemy team to push for the nexus.

Note: The below clip may not play due to streamer suspension.

Macaiyla has a history of LoL toxicity

This isn’t the first time Macaiyla has been banned from an online platform. She has received bans from Twitter, Reddit, and Twitch. In September, her Twitch account was suspended for three days after she accidentally showed a Tweet containing nudity during her stream. The suspension was later lowered to 24 hours. As of this writing, both her Twitter and Twitch accounts are unbanned.

Macaiyla still has two other playable LoL accounts, but she is now taking a stand against what she considers to be an unfair ban on HYPUHS. She claims that nothing she said was any more toxic than what Tyler1 types on a regular basis.

“You have to understand that he does a lot of worse things than other people do in League, it’s pretty crazy.” Macaiyla said.

Tyler1 was infamous for being one of the most toxic players in League of Legends. He berated teammates in chat, rage quit, and intentionally fed if he believed a game was unwinnable. Tyler1 was permanently ID banned in 2016, meaning if Riot Games discovered that he was playing on a new account they would automatically ban it.

“We want you to know when the rare player comes along who’s a genuine jerk, we’ve still got your back,” Riot Games said.

Tyler1 also has a history of toxicity

Tyler1 would continue to play League in private, and publicly pleaded with Riot to unban him. He was unbanned two years later, due in no small part to the vocal support of his fanbase.

Tyler1 hasn’t received any punishment from the honor system since his return. He doesn’t int or rage quit as often as before, but he is still very combative in chat. The Twitch celebrity regularly resorts to name-calling as well as spamming “open” when playing from behind, very similar to the behavior that got Macaiyla’s account banned over a year ago.

Macaiyla’s audience argued that her ban was deserved and that Tyler1’s in-game attitude isn’t comparable to her own. Macaiyla fired back calling her chat “white knights.”

“I love how you guys white knight him so much, but he literally does this exact shit on stream,” said Macaiyla. “Tyler literally does this all the time, spams open, ff, open, ff, dogs.”

This case ultimately comes down to parsing what should and should not be considered a bannable offense in League of Legends.

Riot Games states that players who violate the Summoner’s Code and consistently create a negative experience in games will receive punishment. A player is deserving of a ban if they continuously harass other players, type offensive remarks,or intentionally feed. Tyler1 has committed each of these transgressions multiple times live on stream, both before and after his ID ban.

However, being toxic is part of Tyler1’s shtick. His over-the-top behavior is what attracts many of his viewers, and makes him stand out as an online personality. Riot Games has even embraced his nature, and now regularly involves him in live events in spite of their muddled history.

Tyler1 has essentially received a free ticket to break the Summoner’s Code as long as he does so while entertaining an audience. Should players such as Macaiyla who emulate Tyler1’s toxic in-game attitude be treated similarly or punished for their actions?

Either way, it is unlikely Macaiyla’s old account will be unbanned anytime soon seeing as nearly every perma-banned account stays that way, unless you’re Tyler1.

William Davis

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