LoL Esports player Biofrost comes out as gay, criticises industry for lack of inclusion

League of Legends Esports player Vincent ‘Biofrost’ Wang has come out as gay, using the opportunity to criticise the Esports industry for a lack of inclusion.

The Chinese-Canadian took to Twitter with his truth.

“I’m gay. I’ve struggled with my personal identity my entire life,” Wang began. “While my parents were working in China, I moved around a lot from homestay to homestay, which is basically where you live in a stranger’s home. At the age of 8, I was bombarded with homophobic and sexist remarks at home, and whenever I did something that wasn’t ‘manly,’ I was told, ‘Why are you acting like a girl?’ and to stop being ‘gay.'”

Wang equated childhood bullying to that experienced within the Esports industry.

“On almost every team I’ve been on, I’ve heard homophobic comments from either my teammates or the staff and felt uncomfortable, even borderline afraid of possibly losing my job if I told the truth,” he continued. “I’m at a point in my life where I’ve accepted who I am, and it’s taken me a long time to get there. My story is not unique. The gaming industry is rampant with sexism, prejudice, and homophobia. I don’t believe there’s a quick fix, but it starts with us holding ourselves to a higher standard and treating everyone with dignity.

“We need to educate people in esports of proper conduct within the workplace. I’m not making this announcement because I owe everyone the details of my personal life, but because I want there to be more awareness about the problems our community faces.”

Biofrost’s message was met with many words of support, including messages from fellow LoL player Søren ‘Bjergsen’ Bjerg, pro fighting Esports player Dominique ‘Sonic Fox’ McLean, and more.

“I didn’t expect this amount of support and it makes me feel hopeful for the change that we can make in this community,” the player wrote in a follow-up tweet. “I’m incredibly thankful for all of you.”