League of Legends star Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok and T1 have launched a lawsuit against toxic fans in an attempt to “create a healthy esports culture”. It was filed by their lawyers on July 19 in South Korea.
As one of the most reputable esports organizations in the world, T1 has an extensive history of success throughout the history of League of Legends. But as their accomplishments grow, so has the criticism.
The organization received “violent threats” back in 2020 after benching the star for rookie mid laner Lee ‘Clozer’ Ju-hyeon, and spoke out to try and stop the harassment. It has only ramped since, and now the Unkillable Demon King is taking action.
Through T1’s legal team, Faker has filed a number of lawsuits against those harassing the star mid laner publicly under South Korea’s Criminal Act.
“T1 will file an official lawsuit against the John Does that have continuously and repeatedly harassed Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok online,” the team said in an official statement, according to InvenGlobal.
APEX Law LLC, on behalf of @faker as a member of @T1LoL has filed a case(s) against negative commentees towards Faker under Criminal Act Article 311 on July 19th, 3:10 PM KST pic.twitter.com/h35q5cX0aM
— Ashley Kang (@AshleyKang) July 19, 2022
The official statement expresses their intent in regards to their legal action, stating these actions aren’t “one-off measures”.
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“We at T1 are determined to protect everyone of our affiliated members from unjustified attacks.”
T1 isn’t the only LCK organization currently experiencing such plights. KT Rolster made similar defenses for their staff, releasing a public statement condemning some fans after receiving threatening messages and packages.
Faker’s and T1’s stance on verbal harassment online could be the beginning of a shift in esports culture — an industry where harassment and verbal abuse have become normalized.
“Freedom of expression should never defame nor violate others’ rights. T1 will continue to do our best to protect our players and create a healthy esports culture,” the organization concluded.
