An Average Player's Thoughts on the Hax$ Ban
My tag is Swesty. I usually go 2-2 at the Nightclub. I have 140 followers on twitter, and no notable affiliations with any TOs or youtube drama channels.
The Hax$ ban never seems to leave the news cycle. Over a year has passed since the release of Evidence.zip 2, with few updates in Hax’s case. I’ve written up some quick thoughts the issue, despite being unsure where I land on the verdict.
1. Indefinite bans are never appropriate.
Ban Hax for life now, or give him a proper sentence. No player should be stuck in limbo awaiting a decision that will impact their career and life significantly. If a team of TOs can come together to decide on a ban, they can come together to decide on a length. I’ve seen how indefinite bans have hurt other communities, namely CS:GO, and it’s ridiculous that a year has passed with no decision.
I’m empathetic to community organizers who never expected to tackle such complex and absurd issues—especially without pay—but settling on an indefinite ban feels lazy, unfair, and silly. You signed up to be a judge, deliver a sentence.
Here’s Hax's Ban Statement. The SSB Code of Conduct even suggests ban lengths for certain offenses.
There’s a comparison here to the American justice system that I’m not going to make.
2. The punishment should match the crime, not the criminal.
A common sentiment I see on threads discussing the Hax ban goes as follows:
“Hax is such an influential and important player. He’s done so much for the scene. He should be unbanned.”
This type of thinking is foolish and dangerous. A player’s fanbase or feats should never determine the severity of their punishment. Hax should be judged the same as anyone else, totally abstract of his achievements.
If legacy and influence outweighed wrongdoing we would have sex offenders on the Summit Couch. I’m glad we don’t.
It’s a slippery slope.
3. What warrants a ban?
I thought Hax’s video was stupid. I thought his apologies were forced. It’s laughable that he’s aligned himself with a moron like Technicals and his ilk. I doubt he really regrets what he did outside of it harming his career. I feel zero affection towards him as a top player and community leader.
I also don’t think Hax competing at tournaments presents a danger to the Melee community. Will people be made uncomfortable by Hax’s presence at tournaments? Maybe. The same way people have been made uncomfortable by LuigigoShard, or Hbox, or Leffen. The same way if I ever see Mang0 I’ll think of this clip of him calling Amber Heard a cum-guzzler. Players don’t like other players' opinions. Players talk shit about other players on twitter. Players hate other players. But that doesn’t always warrant bans.
This is not to say that feeling uncomfortable isn’t valid. If another player makes you feel unsafe, or threatened in any way, especially due to your race, sexuality, or gender identity, it’s a serious issue that should be brought to a TO. However, I often find myself questioning if anyone (besides maybe one person) really feels that way about Hax. Those who do find Hax a threat to their space at melee tournaments, I am interested in hearing your thoughts.
Of course, the guidelines around bans are often blurry, and just because a player doesn’t pose a physical threat doesn’t always mean they should be allowed at tournaments. It’s these thin lines that I want to see fleshed out for future ban discussions.
Top players with large audiences shouldn’t accuse other top players of being the devil incarnate. It’s irresponsible, cruel, and should be examined by a community board. But worse things have happened, and Hax is far from the only top player to defame one of his competitors on social media. If the consequences of his videos are weighed, and the hate they inspired warrants a lifetime ban, then so be it. A year is a long time, and I’d like to see an actual verdict and sentence released as soon as possible.
I could talk about this topic for hours, and just might in another article, but for now we’ll just have to wait until the end of indefinite.
Next on the docket: what can banned players do to earn forgiveness, if anything? Should TOs have to disclose why players are banned? (yes, Nick Yingling).
This post has been edited since publishing. Mostly syntax but I removed a segment I was uncertain on. DM me for the original.