*by Guest Columnist Jeff Yabumoto*
Let’s start with a quick caveat: I am happy that the Atlanta Reign were able to work out something mutually agreeable with Daniel “Dafran” Francesca. I am happy that Dafran is going to be happier being a streamer rather than a professional Overwatch player. It would do Atlanta no good if he remained on the roster and was a miserable player.
But what Dafran just did with his resignation to the Atlanta Reign shouldn’t have happened. This is a big deal and it should not pass without consequence, or, at the very least, a critical look at the situation.
Time Spent
First up, let’s look at all the time and resources the Atlanta Reign invested in Dafran. Dafran was easily one of the most hyped new players to come into Overwatch Season 2. He has a big community following that was excited to see him on the Overwatch League stage. They wanted him to succeed.
Teams, especially the expansion teams, are looking to build their own brands and fan bases. When signing Dafran, the Reign didn’t just look at his skill as a player. They looked at his marketability. Dafran is popular and fun. He draws a lot of eyes to the Atlanta Reign franchise and to the Overwatch League in general. That sells merchandise, which in turn, helps fund the team. That’s extremely important for new organizations who are trying to find revenue streams.
Then there's the marketing effort they’ve put into Dafran. Posters, social media posts, media appearances, interviews with reporters, and a myriad of other things. These are all things with cost, something that his early resignation completely insults.
Let’s not forget that throughout Stage 1, and the months leading up to it, Dafran has been practicing and bonding with his teammates. Getting to know his playstyle and them his. We’ve seen how important knowing your teammates is for OWL teams. It can make or break stages/seasons for them.
The right player can make all the difference. We certainly saw that with Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod on the Dallas Fuel after he switched to main tank and Brandon “Seagull” Larned switched to off tank.
Now, the Atlanta Reign have a roster of players that have to adjust their playstyle. The Reign have to possibly recruit another player to add to the roster. A player that the existing roster will have to learn to work with, which can be an arduous process. After all, communication is half of the game.
But, recruiting a new player right now is not going to be the easiest thing. The expansion was the best time to pick up new players and that window is now closed.
If Dafran had never been signed, the Reign could have possibly bid more aggressively on another player that would still be around. One that would complete the contract that they signed instead of ducking out after two months of practice and competition.
They could have found a player that didn’t quit randomly after they were signed only to say that they weren’t actually quitting the next day. A player that didn’t have a streaming safety net to fall back on.
This is not okay.
The Reign could have recruited a player that knows and understands that Overwatch League is something that is hard. It’s something you have to work at and you can't be selfish about it. And it’s not like there weren’t clear examples for Dafran to look at before he signed. How many articles were there about the grueling schedule the Shanghai Dragons endured? How many former players talked about how stressful the league is?
Being a professional in anything is difficult. Being a professional in the public eye is even harder.
When Seagull retired, he talked about how the stress of the league affected him so heavily. He talked about how much work it was and how he missed streaming and the fans that got him to where he was in the first place. Not to mention health issues.
Ted "Silkthread" Wang, formerly of the LA Gladiators and Chengdu Hunters said the same thing. It’s stressful being a professional Overwatch player. Stanislav "Mistakes" Danilov, formerly of the Boston Uprising, also said that he had motivation and health issues. Dafran was not without warning going into the Overwatch League and he is certainly connected enough to talk to former players who experienced the league and retired.
Consequences
There needs to be consequences, just like there were consequences for Félix "xQc" Lengyel. Blizzard has an opportunity here to make an example of a player here who is being selfish and potentially harmful to the long-term health of the Overwatch League.
"Professional gaming was always the biggest dream of mine since I was very young and you gave me a shot. Sadly it is not anymore. I would rather be a streamer at this point in life and chill."
It took just two months for Dafran to get what he wanted out of his dream. If he can just quit after doing what is essentially a test run, what’s to stop others from doing the same? What about the 16-year-olds out there who look up to current players and grind it out in order to go pro? What happens when they sign and then quit a month or two later in the middle of the season?
Current and future players need to know that this is not acceptable behavior.
This cannot become precedent for the Overwatch League or any other professional esport. If this becomes commonplace, it could easily lead to more people not taking esports seriously if you can just hop in and out of being a contracted professional. That is not something we need when the industry is still young and trying to find its place. Not when we get vitriol by the barrel when Overwatch League airs on ABC.
Overwatch League is fighting for its own and esports' legitimacy every day. It's partially why xQc's punishment was so severe. He was not good for the image of Overwatch League because he didn't want to adhere to the rules they had set forth. It's why Overwatch League has takedown power over players' social media posts. They want to be able to take things down like pepe, something Dafran mentions in his resignation that he is happy to be able to use again.
Overwatch League has an image to maintain, rightfully so, and players need to know that if you harm that image, there will be consequences. Overwatch League is a business venture, after all.
Just remember, at the end of the day, Dafran took someone else’s spot. He stopped someone else from achieving their own dream of being a professional Overwatch player this year, and that is not okay.
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Comments :30
2
level 1 kennemerm
1
This is a very long winded complaint without giving a single recommended solution to the "problem". It's not like he joined OWL with the intention of leaving after Stage 1, he did what he felt was best for himself.
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level 1 Marquis_Mignon
Exactly.
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level 1 Luis_Hernandez
There were consequences for xqc because he violated rules not because he left early. That comparison seems like a stretch to me.
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level 1 Ryan_Harte
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level 1 Nerni
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So, on a reread of this article, I've noticed a significant issue, and one that detracts from the structure and reading overall: what is your point?
I mean this literally. The headline, though clickbaity, sets up an expectation for the content of the article, but the majority doesn't deliver. The first and main points made seem to be more focused on the fact that the Reign shouldn't have hired him. Okay, that's your opinion to have—but does it relate to the overall intended message? Additionally, at the end of the article, you return to the point made in the headline... though you made a totally different case the entire time. Your end thesis, the one you chose for your title, aren't supported by the majority of your talking points.
So, I return to the question: what is your point? Is it that Dafran's retirement is unprofessional or that the Atlanta Reign is responsible for bringing in a mess that now needs to be cleaned up?
If the first, I suppose you are entitled to your opinion, but I do have to point out that it demonstrates a concerning lack of sensitivity to the well-being of the players. The retirement, from all the research I've done on it, seems to stem in part from Dafran's mental health. One of the things I respect about the Overwatch League is the emphasis they place on the mental well-being of their players, particularly since many gamers tend to suffer from mental illness at, if not a higher rate, than certainly a more visible one. (side note: I'm not implying causation, just correlation; I think that mentally ill folks tend to seek out video games more than games make people mentally ill.) Despite much of the world not taking mental health seriously, depression can be debilitating: the physical wear from it on the neurons of the brain cause real life problems. I l honestly see this situation comparable to someone starting, say, professional football and learning that they have a physical disability that leaves them in pain from the physical exertion or prevents them from playing to the fullest. Would you demand that someone be punished for retiring from a basketball team if that were the case? What would you rather have him do instead of retiring? You can't say that you understand that he would have done no good as a miserable player, then say that he should be punished for taking steps to correct his situation. Forcing a player to stay on when they're miserable (and paying him a lot, while they're at it) just to save face would, I think, do just the opposite.
Also, worth noting: comparing a man unable to pursue a career because of personal issues to a person continuously known for bigotry, toxicity, and no attempt to correct this behavior is, frankly, a pretty insulting take. (Yes, I know that Dafran has a history of such behavior too, but unlike xQc, has worked to improve it.) I'm not sure if this was your intention, but it makes the article sound like it was written just out of unresolved bitterness for xQc's release, and undercuts your arguments otherwise.
If the second, I suppose there's more substance to that complaint and would probably have made a better argument if that were the focus. The issues still lie with the take on mental health here—you open up a discussion on if the league's teams shouldn't take the "risk" of hiring people with mental illnesses, or where the line lies. That's certainly a discussion to be had, and while we might be on different sides of it, would at least give you a point to stand behind.
Also, the emotional appeal of him "taking someone else's spot" is a little disingenuous—it isn't like he thought to himself, "I'm going to crush someone's dreams and then spit in their face" when signing the contract. No one is entitled to a spot on a pro team. Dafran met the qualifications better than anyone else. It happened to not work out—but where is the sense in punishing someone who starts a job and then finds out they can't stand it?
As it is, you've brought up two points but followed through on neither. As a reader, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be taking away from this article other than that you're angry he quit (and, frankly, I got the impression that you're bitter about xQc and brought those feelings into it).
And, finally, like the first commenter said, what do you propose the League do instead? It's not a great situation, no, but is there anything better? I certainly can't think of anything. If you can, by all means; it'll lend stronger support to your argument, whichever you decide to stand behind.
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level 1 Kym_R
I disagree with your premise. I feel that the author conveyed his points clearly.
However, you ARE correct that he did not provide a solution. In that, I hear you, but I think the League shouldn't allow their players to get out of a contract just because things get hard.
The schedule this year is better & if Dafran is having mental health issues, that should definitely be addressed, but that does not mean he should be able to eschew his responsibilities. He should be given time off to seek the help he needs, then he should finish out his contract. Frankly, it would have been infinitely better if Dafran had just taken a leave of absence (like Pine did in Season 1) and quit at the end of the season.
Now, one caveat I will give to that is IF the contract is written in such a way to allow for early release due to mental health. IF that were the case, I'd be OK with this move by Dafran, but knowing how corporations work around here, I doubt it. Also, if Dafran had asked for a leave of absence for mental health and was denied, then this move would make sense.
Overall, I agree with the author that this is bad for the League overall and we should be holding players to higher standards.
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level 1 Nerni
I disagree that the author made his point. As I pointed out, he brought up two, but failed to present a solid argument on either. It's my understanding that the point you're arguing is the first, so I do have a take on that, as someone who's worked in related areas of a large company for a very long time.
I think there may be a fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of employment contracts overall. California employment law does allow employees to leave a company for any reason, not just mental health—the contract wouldn't have included reasons why an employee is "permitted" to leave an organization because it's not legal to force them to stay. From someone who's worked with plenty of employment contracts (I've been in some myself), an employment contract isn't a legally binding agreement not to part ways from either employer or employee. It's an agreement about behavior, participation, movement, etc. within a company or an organization. SOMETIMES, it will include consequences of leaving early, but that's usually just limited to things such as repayment of signing bonuses, relocation payments, etc. Whether or not any of this was present or enacted isn't particularly relevant to the argument, since I highly doubt Blizzard's lawyers would have let him off the hook if it were in play and has already been taken care of behind the scenes, I'm sure.
TL;DR: Dafran (and everyone else in the league) haven't signed contracts promising to stay in the League for a certain period of time. They've signed contracts governing what teams they'll play for, their conduct, the required number of games to keep their job, etc. (at least, probably—I don't know the details but they're examplary of the sort of thing I mean.)
It's not legal to force nearly anyone to stay in a position they don't like; that applies whether you work at a small local business or a giant esports organization. Turnover happens every single day, after companies have put resources into training and building synergy and all sorts of things into employees who quit—it's really not an unusual occurrence, and happens on a far worse "screw your coworkers over by leaving" scale in other places, I promise. He is no longer receiving his salary, housing, or benefits. As someone who's worked at a hellish job, punitive measures for leaving a company in ANY way set a precedent that no employee (or employer, assuming quid pro quo) would want out there. There may be consequences within an organization, such as ineligibility for rehire, but that's on the company. It could have happened, for all we know, but I don't actually think that's something that the public really needs to know.
So I guess another TL;DR: the contract does technically allow early release from the company for mental health issues, by nature of not prohibiting early release at all.
First of all, these consequences usually come into effect when an employee burns bridges in some way with the company. The organization clearly parted on good terms with Dafran, and that's their business.
Second of all, it's complately nonsensical to suggest that "consequences" be enforced on a leaving player. You can deny rehire (doubt he'll want to come back anyway), but you can't dock pay (SUPER illegal) or impose fines (they have zero reach outside their org).
Third, honestly the prevailing opinion in my social group is that OWL did a good thing in parting ways amicably. It's another example of one of the many things they've done out of concern for the health of the players, which they have a fairly good track record of doing (Pine, Bischu, the Dragons, the restructuring). It's gotten them good publicity, too, especially watching tonight's game.
I guess I just think it's silly to harp on one player for "squandering the resources" put into him when like... that's not at all unusual in employment whatsoever. (After all, teams basically do the same thing to players all the time by sitting them on the bench for like an entire season, which can ruin a career honestly).
I'm still pretty sure that the writer is just a salty xQc Fanboy who wants to see other people get the Blizzard Enforcement Hammer brought down upon them.
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level 1 Elipses
2
How much of a garbage human being do you have to be to knock a guy for quitting the league because he's becoming a father. Either you willfully ignored the clip of him announcing on stream or are too garbage a journalist to of done adequate research and found out
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level 1 ZeTT
And aren't you garbage as well for not realizing Dafran was joking?
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level 1 Acyd_OW
@ZeTT r/woooosh PepeLaugh
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level 1 Marquis_Mignon
I get your disappointment. Dafran had/has quite a following. That Dafran appears fickle is okay. We are allowed to make decisions concerning our own life and livelihood. Perhaps Dafran is tired of the stress-cum-celebrity accompanying the Overwatch League. Gaming on-camera, replete with flat affect, is very hard. Perhaps Dafran got a better offer. Rumor has it Blizzard makes millions, but waxes stingy when it comes to "their own." Or perhaps Dafran is tired. Everybody gets tired. What I get from your article is Dafran took advantage of a poorly written contract. Maybe this is where you should direct your anger.
OWL is a byproduct of a game nobody thought would take off. OWL is a byproduct of a game. OWL is a byproduct. The spot for "another" player will be there. Players will adjust. Loyalty seems to be at the heart of your argument, and if Dafran is lacking in this trait, there is nothing to be done--except write better "paper" to avoid losing players early. The fact is, however, loyalty is as loyalty gets.
I do not know all the facts in this situation, and I suspect, no one does. Dafran, nevertheless, seemed conflicted re: his posts. I wish him luck, and hope "burning bridges" is not his legacy.
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level 1 Sailcat4life
2
Dude.. these are kids... Its ridiculous to expect them to act like professional adults....
The only thing here that should be dismantled is this stupid OWL that lets kids slave 80 hours or more a week when they should be enjoying life and growing up.
I love gaming, but this exploitation of children needs to stop. And holding kids that actually step away, basically saving themselves from a teen burnout, responsible is just super reprehensible. Read your own article and think again... These kids work almost as hard as chinese sweatshop workers.. just because its a game and they get paid better doesnt make it fine....
This whole business and American attitude towards performance by children is sick.
0
level 1 Kym_R
Wrong.
If they're "kids" then they shouldn't have the privileges afforded to adults who sign contacts. Advocate for changing the age of adulthood if you want, but they are adults in the eyes of the law.
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level 1 backtraced
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level 1 IncredibleMouse
Indeed!!! You got it all correct.
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level 1 backtraced
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> There needs to be consequences
What is there to do? He wants out, he is not owned by OWL.
If LeBron James wants to quit basketball mid-season, it would suck, he would lose out on a fair amount of money from his contract, but he's a human being in control of his own life. He can do whatever the hell he wants to with it.
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level 1 Funkopedia
If Lebron quits, he can't hop on another team or go play publicly for cash donations. Also there are fines and such. This guy is gonna go rake in big money on twitch, which is what I suspect the entire saga was built upon: getting a ton of publicity for free.
0
level 1 Icarus
I really doubt he joined the league with the intent to quit. I don't know his life, but based on his behavior, I'd say he's likely clinically depressed. Based on the way he's flip-flopped in the public eye, it also seems like he could have a bad case of bipolar disorder. Regardless, as someone with mental issues of their own, I know it couldn't even have been an easy decision to quit. He would've been thinking about letting down his fans & team, but also thinking about the possibility of letting them down even more by continuing on and doing worse yet in the future due to compounded stress. We should also, consider the fans of his stream. If we go back to Seagull's explanation of his retirement. He felt he was letting down all the long time fans of his stream and it was causing him even more stress. All of this said, I don't know his life, but jumping on him and saying that he did this on purpose is exactly the kind of thing that contributes to the stress of an extremely popular public figure like an esports pro.
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level 1 Brunu_Runu
Yet another case of a person v. a corporation and the capitalism obsessed masses side with the corp.
0
level 1 Icarus
I can't say much that hasn't already been said. However, I'd like to repeat the point that you failed to propose any kind of solution beyond a vague assertion that "there should be consequences". I think that any consequences for leaving the league early would very possibly hurt the league more than help though by scaring off possible star players that maybe aren't sure they can handle the pressure. For instance, if you propose that people be penalized 5k for leaving early, who's going to want to put themselves in the situation where they're struggling, depressed, and they feel trapped because they can't afford to get out. It'd just shrink the pool of players available, which you might think of as "weeding out the weak" or something, but as a budding organization the OWL needs all the great players they can get. Anyway. Reiterating one more time, this article didn't come with a solution. Just a lot of rambled on complaining. It came across as very bitter and the example of XQC was a massive stretch when he was punished for being a toxic, bigoted, asshole. Every player punished by the league has actually broken the rules by being hateful, or involved in some sort of dishonest activity, like boosting.
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level 1 Orian_de_Wit
I think the bigger problem is that so many players report stress and health issues. Maybe Blizzard should be the one to face consequences.
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level 1 VirtualDeej
The point is xQc and dafran hurt the eSports industry. The eSports community needs to be supportive and forward thinking so that we can all enjoy it as players and fans.
Think about it, both these guys went back to streaming... Because of easy greed. Ppl watch xQc react to dumb videos .... Because enough people watch him, it's easy money. He doesn't have to practice or be good at anything.. for a time.
eSports isn't immune to greed. The facade of false humbleness in dafrans post is weak at best.
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level 1 Razak_Asir
I do think there is a structural issue in Overwatch League and it has to do with how teams sign players. This is not a Dafran issue and he should not be the one punished for it. If anything... OWL Should.
I agree with your point that this sort of thing does not help the image of OWL, and the fact that he did it may potentially lead to others retiring early (which someone else did this week). But the greater concentration needs to go, not to how do we make an example of someone who is doing the best thing for his life... but how does the league move forward to make sure that no one retires mid season and that new players understand what is best for the life in the first place?
Blizzard wants OWL to be considered the same as other physical sports, I think it's worth at least acknowledging a major glaring differences in how the league brings players in compared to physical sports. In OWL... they join... in NFL, MLB, NBA, and Soccer (football) they play these games since they are children. When they get to the point of say, being drafted in the NFL they have been through the process, they have played competitive games on a weekly basis for years if not decades already. In OWL... players seem to go from Streamers that play in competitions once every month or two... to professional players that play a couple times a week competitively. THEY ARE NOT BEING PREPARED FOR THIS! There is no legitimate "test run" to go through. They can only try it, and see if it works for them or not. I feel like the point of contenders was sort of to try to emulate MLB's minor league system, and I think players that go through it probably end up being far more mentally prepared for the rigors even if the format isn't exactly the same. Dafran never went through contenders... why not? Maybe that should be a requirement. He wasn't even much of a tournament player. He hasn't played competitively at all since May of 2017 (according to liquipedia Overwatch at least) and even before that he hadn't a ton of competitive play under his belt. Dafran was brought into the Reign for one reason and one reason alone... he was a popular streamer, I'm not saying he was a bad player, but his skill level was not what got him the job. I think with that being the reason... the onus is on the Reign and OWL for allowing that to happen with little to no real preparation. I think they should institute a rule that says they should be in contenders for at least 1 season before they are allowed to make the leap to OWL. If for no other reason than to force players into a test run so that this doesn't happen again. But realistically, OWL will have better players for it as well.
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level 1 Dia_Bolic
You make very good points. Yet I see no mention of his personal problems. The state of his mental health and other things that you need to take into account.
Not to mention the state of THE GAME he plays. I have grinded countless hours in Overwatch. Wanting and working towards being in the professional minor league Swedish team. I have had professionals tell me that I could have what it takes and so on. In the last year I have given up on that dream BECAUSE the state of the game. Weekly things such as Arcade boxes have turned more into a chore. And I find myself having fun with other games. I mean they had to have a huge patch in hopes to destroy the META. Because no one wanted to watch the same thing, over and over again.
All in all, I think that you used more of your own personal views on the subject. Rather then looking more into the matter. I love Dafran, and I hate to see him go. But at the end of the day, any real gamer will tell you the same. I play video games to have fun, and just like any other game that decided to go another way development wise. I stopped playing.
Maybe focus more on the integrity of the game and the OWL in itself.
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level 1 kotuon_1
This article is needlessly aggressive and negative. There's a lack of focus due to it being more of a rant then a real argument.
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level 1 thorein
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level 1 Martin_Bass
You’re absolutely right. The kid should be locked in a cage and forced to work against his will for the duration of the season under threat of death. Actions have consequences and he broke the law. No one is above the law of overwatch league.
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level 1 Zarathustra
1
You could league the same logic of consequences towards Atlanta Reign, this article seems so opposed to the rights of players, it is more likely to set a dangerous precedent than any retirement.
Firstly, Dafran has a well documented history of losing interest in the game and is also well known to be prone to emotionally charged actions like quitting, throwing, etc. An organization has the burden of assessing the value of each player they invest in, and like any investment each player is a risk to a varying degree. Dafran’s actions were not only predictable, but are perfectly within his rights. It is crucial that a player not forced (either culturally or otherwise) to remain in an endeavor that no longer suits them. That is simply detrimental to everyone. Coming from the premise that actions ought to have consequences, it is clearly the actions of the Reign that have consequences, not the actions of the player.
I think it is dangerous to put the financials of a well funded organization over the mental well being of any individual, when the Reign, or any organization for that matter, invest in a player it is understood that they bear the risk of things like this happening.
Lastly on the issue of Dafran taking a spot from someone else is simply false. His ability to retire and leave the professional seen is crucial to a proper flow of players who actually want to be involved, enforcing some consequence for retired players keeps them in a spot they no longer wish to be, and even further bars the opportunities of other more ambitious players. For new talent to be fostered l, we must allow the old talent to acknowledge when they are done and allow them to do so without any consequence or prejudice.
The Atlanta Reign took a risk, and they are responsible for the results of that risk, that is quite simply the bottom line. Dafran was a boon to their popularity while he was there, but there was no reason to think the trends of his behavior ought to change simply because he dons a jersey(the most sold jersey, so surely the Reign has some profit) and to criticize Dafran for knowing when he was at his end is a rally that puts finances over the well being of the players and the sport as a whole.
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level 1 Zarathustra
Argue*** not “league”
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level 1 Lewis_Burt
This article actually really got to me. Is everyone neglecting the fact that he suffers from a mental health issue? As someone with a mental disorder I applaud and take my hat off to dafran, he went out there and gave it his best (the man gave us torn!)