eSports Organization Apologizes, Changes Course After LGBT Rules Controversy

Philippines-based eSports organization Garena has issued an apology over controversial tournament rules that stipulated a League of Legends team would be limited to one gay or transgender woman per squad over fears that they "probably have some unfair advantage."

These rules didn't go over too well with gamers and even developer Riot Games. Now, Garena has announced the reversal of those controversial rules, and also issued an apology to the LGBT community in the wake of what it called "a lot of good discussion and debate."

"Our original intent when we put together this tournament was to promote diversity in the competitive gaming community" -- Garena

"Our initial ruling on LGBT player restrictions within the Iron Solari League has created a lot of good discussion and debate over the past 24 hours," the group said in a statement posted to its website. "After discussing the ruling with our partners and re-examining our approach, we have decided to remove these restrictions completely. This means that any player who self-identifies as female will be allowed to participate. We sincerely apologize for any offense we caused to the LGBT and gaming communities."

The Garena statement goes on to explain the thought process behind the now-reversed rules.

"Our original intent when we put together this tournament was to promote diversity in the competitive gaming community," the group said. "Hence, we are grateful to our players who have consistently provided their feedback to help us learn and improve as we strive to develop an inclusive gaming environment for all. We'll also be keeping our promise of having an open dialogue with all parties as we plan this and future events."

"We hope you will tune in to support these awesome teams and players in this upcoming tournament."

Garena's rule reversal and apology came after Riot Games released a statement on Twitter that suggested the developer was not happy with the parameters of the tournament. See below.