OpTic's Scump accuses CDL of forced contracts, unfair terms

Olivia Richman Published 15/11/2020

Call of Duty pro Seth” Scump” Abner is fed up with the Call of Duty League.

Scump took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with the CDL, some of which were very questionable contract practices. According to Scump, the CDL forced multiple players to sign contracts on the spot, preventing them from consulting their managers. No details were given on the terms of the contracts or what they were related to.

“It was a ‘sign it now or you can’t play at Minnesota’ type exchange,” Scump tweeted.

Scump even added that the Call of Duty League could even fine him for tweeting about the contract situation.

The CDL also made us sign a player “contract” in front of them without allowing us to run it by our lawyers at the player summit. It was a “sign it now or you can’t play at Minnesota” type exchange. I’m probably gonna get fined for this too just letting y’all know ????
— OpTic Scump (@scump) November 15, 2020

Scump then told Nick “NICKMERS” Kolcheff that the CDL was “doing players dirty.”

“They doing us dirty and most are scared to speak out at all cause they gonna fine us. Has made me question continuing to compete,” Scump said.

CDL players cannot stream other games on Twitch

Another topic that came up was Activision Blizzard’s control over players’ social media presence. According to Scump, the CDL fined him for playing Raid Shadow Legends during a sponsored stream.

“It was during the off-season as well, which makes it worse. my channels are my channels. I should be able to do what I want, please. But apparently I can’t,” Scump ranted.

I haven’t spoken of this publicly really, but I was fined for playing Raid Shadow Legends during a sponsored stream. It was during the off season as well which makes it worse. My channels are MY channels. I should be able to do what I please, but apparently I cant.
— OpTic Scump (@scump) November 15, 2020

Doug “Censor” Martin, another Call of Duty pro, backed up Scump’s account with more examples.

“Remember they told us we can’t make 1v1 videos against each other for Yeezy’s on our own YouTube channels?” Censor responded.

Many in the Call of Duty community noted that Scump had opted to join the CDL, meaning they have the right to control certain aspects of his stream and career. CDL is also not the only league that keeps an eye over the streams of its players, with League of Legends and Overwatch having similar practices. Though there are two sides to that particular discussion, potentially being forced to sign a contract is deeply concerning.

Fans took Scump at his word, though. Many implored him to leave Call of Duty behind and take up streaming full-time.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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