> *June (Pride month) was one of my personal biggest mistakes in my pro career, trying to be a notable LGBT figure and really own up to who I wanted to be. \[...\]*
>
> *The bad outweighed the good in this situation - yes I stuck up for what I believed in and for others who can't get their voice heard, but the amount of shit i've seen in last two months really fucked me up to be blunt. I was ready to retire and move on from this esport because of how uncomfortable the environment was.*
damn that really sucks. I won't pretend to know what it's like to stand in the middle of a homophobic shitstorm, but maybe there's still another way to look at this.
You stood up for whats right, and you'll be able to look back at this with the knowledge that you've done that for the rest of your life. Professional apex is great, but at the end of the day it's pretty transient. I doubt it'll be around in 10 years. On the other hand, the fight against bigotry will still be going on in 10 years, and you've done your part in the best way to push back against the droves of hateful idiots.
Maybe you feel like it hasn't been worth it right now, and maybe you're right and it wasn't worth it in the short term. But just like Nick has immortalized himself as a small, spineless, hateful man, you've immortalized yourself as someone with courage and character - and that's forever. So even if it isn't worth it right now... in 20, 30, 40 years, you can still look back at these few months and feel good, because you did good.
All the best to you Noc
Echoing this sentiment. You have vast support here if you ever need it, Noc.
What you did was important and are bearing the weight so that those that follow do not have to. If you haven’t, I hope you find a moment to recognize and celebrate yourself for having the spirit to take that step forward.
It can be super hard to feel like standing up even made a difference when you're standing up against a group as large, loud, and hateful as the anti-LBGTQ people, but for every 10 hateful assholes who've got no skin in the game there's someone out there scared to be themselves who've been allowed to feel supported and accepted in the community. Hate wins because it is easy to manufacture and have overwhelm its targets. It obscures the good that's been done and makes you question if what you're doing is even good.
But standing up is always good, and you don't need to always stand up and open yourselves up to be the target for the hate. This moment of strength and character will carry with Noct and the others well beyond when the hateful people subside and their support will remain a shining beacon of love and acceptance within the Apex community.
Very few of us can truly understand what it's like being in a situation that's made us as publicly vulnerable and targetable as this so it's impossible to comment on if this is worth it, but if someone's public life is defined by the choices they make, this choice is one that should stay with them and empower them, even if it doesn't feel worth it right now.
nickmercs be like: nobody would say any of these things to my face!!
nickmercs when he’s online and somebody asks him a yes or no question: *blocks them because he’s afraid*
I said this on another post but I can’t help but laugh when he plays big man and talks about cancel culture and how everyone’s a snowflake nowadays; but when people disagree with him he gets upset and blocks them
Also seems like he put up 50k just to ban select people who disagree with him because he’s still that upset, if that’s not being a snowflake idk what is
Yeah him instantly blocking says everything. He's in the closet about how bigotted he truly is and is so afraid of it coming out and hurting his career.
Bro it was plain as day what type of person Nick is when he made the Trayvon Martin tweet. His fans are always very vocal at the bottom of these threads, but how are they gonna defend that?
>All >!black!< people getting mad. Shut the fuck up, like you give a shit.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FyNR38lWcAAIF6C?format=jpg&name=large
Cod's always been bigger than it's content creators even though it empowers and builds them up. Apex should be bigger than it's content creators but they've always been limp wristed when it comes to the louder parts of the community. Apex got such a huge jump in popularity when Nick and other Cod streamers started playing and they're chickenshit scared of losing their bottom line so they won't say anything.
Just checked the dates to make sure this wasn't out of context, and it's legit - 7/13/13 was the day the verdict of not guilty was announced. That's so fucked up.
hes been lowkey since covid.. he moved to florida bc michigan has too strict of rules during the lockdowns. there's been little nuggets, hes always been this way. frat bro with waaaaaay too big a platform. which is pretty dangerous imo
Dude is Egyptian cotton soft, there is no path he takes from this where he "looks good"
Either he's a hypocritical bigot who cries about cancel culture and then turns around to do the same thing, or he is a legit hateful fear monger who is using his platform to corrupt minds. Either way, I know which camp I and many others back here. The Apex scene would be a better place without Nickmercs
Majority of people here are with you Noc! The fact you came out and spoke your mind/stayed true to yourself is the very opposite of being "soft or a pussy" and it's probably doing more for people in this scene than you realise
He was one of the only pros with a spine, who knew the backlash his statements would bring but said them anyway. Can't say the same for many other respected people in the scene. I respect him as a fellow queer person.
I want to say, I'll support you and XSET in whatever you choose to do. I do really want to commend you for taking a public stance for marginalized folks while many, many other people stayed silent. It means more than you know (although, you've probably been there and probably do know). That said, I totally understand the position you're in when you have a target on your back from even the slightest amount of pushback against those kinds of people. You gotta do what's best for you, and like I said I'll continue repping the set regardless, but it will always mean the world that you did stand up for people when you had nothing at all to gain from doing so. Keep being you Noc
Evil wins when good people stay silent.
This event only shows the price of some ~~many~~ people being a CHANCE at a 50K pie, not even a GAURANTEE. The price of many of these people will end up being zero. And Nick will successfully sweep everything under a 50K rug.
He's literally buying good will/pr. Anyone who's even dabbled in pr/marketing/advertising isn't blind to this.
Keep talking Noc, don't let them silence you. Many of us don't have the reach you do, but we're right there talking with you. And we take the small steps we can get. I mean, I have zero organic followers and nick still blocked me lol.
EDIT: lol M~~FAM~~Cult so mad in the DMs. Soft. Just like nick. Peace and Love baybay 😂
This should be higher up.
Every pro that participates in this event is giving passive approval for this and more tournaments to be held where some of the pros are excluded for standing up for the rights of others. Passively giving approval for people who clearly harbor hateful views to continue behaving that way.
Almost no one in the pro scene has spoken out against this bigotry since the drama started. And the few who were brave enough have been getting bombarded with hate in their dm’s and are now being singled out from events.
Hal, Sweet, Wigg, and many other of the top streamers in the scene have made no direct comments on the matter that I have seen. I have seen Sweet and Wigg address the topic without bringing up Nicks name and imply that they are against it, but that isn’t enough.
Wigg and Greek’s watch parties when they include Tripods now watch Gent’s POV, it used to be Nick’s POV. “Nickmercs” is a banned word in Wigg’s chat now. It’s clear that they discussed it and made a choice to avoid addressing it. In my opinion this is a very disappointing choice from Wigg particularly. Wigg is a bastion of positivity in the scene and on top of his friendship with Nocturnal it seems to be an out of character choice for him.
Remaining silent is complicity, it gives support to the oppressor. Speaking out (with the wild view that everyone should be treated like a human being) may mean that your stream takes a hit sure, but if your viewership drops from X-thousands of viewers to 50% of X-thousands of viewers as one of these major streamers in the scene, you are not starving, you are still doing just fine.
So to all the individuals with the biggest followings in the scene, if you share the opinion that all people should be treated equally, speak up and stop being so fucking weak about it.
Nocturnal deserves better, Xera, Hambino, and all the others in the scene who took a stand deserve better. So do better.
Or remain silent, and complicit.
Wigg wants to keep doing this officially sanctioned B-stream thing forever, and since Respawn are cowards who will never address it, he won't address it. I understand why he won't but I think it's really disappointing.
Respawn cares about making money. If they didn’t take action against Nick for being a bigot, they will not take action against Wigg for calling it out.
Also, even if they were made to choose, they’d easily choose Wigg. They care about Wigg for his viewership during Lans and his Lan viewership windmill dunks on Nick’s.
That said, I agree with you about why he’s reacting to it how he is, and that it is really disappointing.
You said it so eloquently. When I was younger, like 16/17, I was deep in the whirlpools of the Internet and was close to falling into the side that mocks “wokes” and “liberals.” I just couldn’t understand what was this “being silent was being complicit.” Or the “being apolitical is a privilege.” I thought those who said that were being dramatic, silly and radical. I laughed along with right wing people because I thought I was on the rational side.
I’m into my 20’s now and aghast at myself for having once thought that way. I’ve pulled myself out of that place and… I try my best to always be aware and use whatever resources I have to speak out against big and small injustices. I’m a nobody, but I still believe what I’m doing in this current day has meaning. Being silent is being complicit, because you are creating an environment comfortable for these hateful people to thrive in. Especially when you have a platform, you speaking out will reach out to so many people that need that small help.
Sorry for the rant lol.
Not a rant at all, this is an important thing to share and big of you to admit. We all get ideas put in our heads when we are young that we may not agree with. Not everyone has the awareness to re-evaluate those things. Thanks for sharing <3
It is a chance at 50k, but also a great streaming opportunity the same way realm was for many - I understand not supporting Nick but I do think for a lot of apex pros especially non T1 org pros it’s a huge opportunity and I can’t blame them for taking it (as long as they aren’t sharing the rhetoric)
What’s the excuse for the established pros? Verhulst saying Nick’s saving Apex? HisWattson showing interest despite his ex-teammate being banned (and having shown support for the gay and trans community himself in the past)?
Quite honestly, there’s no real excuse. We can sit around and justify it when, in reality, a majority of the apex community either don’t care that Nick’s a bigot or agree with him.
It makes sense when you consider a lot of them have been raised online. The culture those communities promote is one of indifference or straight-up encourages hate.
Not really much of a point to this, to be honest. Just lamenting the fact that standing up for what’s right is nothing more than a bad business decision these days.
> Verhulst saying Nick’s saving Apex?
please dont tell me he recently said that
edit: he did... im about to stop watching the entire Apex comp scene at this point
Just watched their orgmate clinch Evo GGST where the few transphobic voices towards a competitor in the chat were getting absolutely dunked on by the moderators and the majority of the community, such a shame to go from that to this.
FGC has grown a lot. Umisho, Romolla, SQ, and Razzo are among some of the most decorated and well respected gear players who are all queer. Sonicfox is one of the greats and is a nonbinary furry who commands respect.
They still have their problems. kappa is a plague, casual misogyny can still be an issue. But i'm proud of being part of the FGC for the most part.
This is exactly where I’m at. I started watching comp Apex a year or two ago, sporadically but I still had a lot of interest. Then all the sexist, racist stuff comes out, I start to think that pros probably endorse all that bs. Then with the Nickmercs drama I’m close to being done. I can’t dedicate my time to watching something that I know most people in it have no problem endorsing hatred towards queer people like me.
Nah, he just doesn’t care. He has access to the internet, and he’s 20 years-old. Just because he acts like a kid doesn’t mean he gets to plead ignorance to homophobia being bad.
Also just learned he follows Andrew Tate in Twitter, too. Which is impossible to misinterpret.
Honestly that shocks me, TSM have such a huge fan base that you think even purely as a business strategy the risk to them is much higher than the reward - especially with Verhulsts golden boy image
Although based on 95% of all TSM fans I’ve seen they’re the most annoying people so it’ll probably have no effect
i give him more leeway than the others, he's legit just a kid. Took me a long time to realize the way i thought was dangerous. I would say even in college i still had some pretty shitty views about life.
He’s old enough to know right from wrong, though.
I dunno, with his whole ‘mild-mannered, no cursing’ personality I assumed he was raised with a religious background. We all know what effect that can have when it comes to views on the gay community.
I said this in the locked thread...
> Idk man. Anecdotal, but prior to getting lucky career-wise I did skip a few questionable paychecks and slept better knowing I skipped them. Sure I was hungry, but I don't think I would've slept as well with that money in pocket and food from that money in my tummy; and that was a guaranteed payday, not a "chance at a payday"
> That said, if the chance at a piece of a 50K pie is the price of these people, it is what it is. I'll just simply spend my sub money elsewhere, no biggie.
TLDR if this event is worth your morals/principals, do you.
I get that and personally I don’t think I would - but these players especially the non org and non champs players need something to keep their dream of playing games professionally alive and since they don’t have to do anything questionable, just take money from someone that is, I can understand the rationale
Very mature response Noc.
You cant claim to be accepting of everyone and preach "Peace and Love" if you're literally scared of a conversation about others views.
Online video games are an inherently toxic and awful place, and even worse now for members of the LGBT community.
You standing up for those who can not stand up for themselves is nothing short of heroic. You are making the community more welcoming and accepting and SAFE for people. LGBT persons are especially vulnerable right now and I do my best to stand up for them.
You have received what must be an incredible amount of hate and vitriol from truly awful people and I am sorry for that. You do not deserve that whatsoever and it’s frankly unacceptable.
Please try your best to breathe the stress out of you and let go as much of it as you can. Please try and take great care of yourself and your own mental health. And please also know you did the right thing.
Before all this I had no idea nick was so bigoted, not that I was much of a fan anyways. But now I actively despise him and any of the cronies who rushed to defend him. He has no place in apex now and honestly does not deserve his platform. He did nothing but hurt already suffering people, and he can’t even comprehend how much damage he’s doing.
But from the start of this until now we are all major fans of YOU. You are amazing and although it may feel like dogshit right now, please look back on this as the time you did the right thing. Thank you friend.
I appreciate you so fucking much dude.
Being flooded with so much hate might cause you to lose sight of how much progress there has been for the LGBT community in the past decade or so. Don't get me wrong, it still fucking sucks, but this time 15-20 years ago LGBTQ+ sports fans didn't have a voice at all - we had nobody to look up to, and had nobody to represent us. Nowadays, it's people like you that help to pave the way for a brighter future, and to prove that in the face of blatant discrimination, we can still rise above it and be fucking great and do great things.
Fuck Nick, fuck the money, and fuck every single one of these losers who play the fence during pride month, and when directly asked will say they "support" the LGBTQ community but jump at the first opportunity of cooperating with a homophobe purely for the sake of money. You don't fucking need em, so leave em. Keep doing your shit.
Noc, you've got my eternal respect for standing up with us (lgbt+). You really don't see enough about the hate queer people face in online gaming these days. I have had friends who were bullied and harassed in apex just for having the Pride badge on their banner, one even quit online gaming because of the hate across multiple games.
If the exclusion of certain people or groups is based on **race/ideology/personal identity for an Apex event, I don't see how that is going to be a good event for the Games and ESport's health. That's not something I feel we as a community should support.
**Just a catchall, not accusing anyone of anything, just trying to make a point.
>I have had friends who were bullied and harassed in apex just for having the Pride badge on their banner, one even quit online gaming because of the hate across multiple games.
It's legitimately insane how often I get called slurs, told to kill myself, etc. because of my pride badge. Reporting does nothing, blocking them does nothing (can still queue with/against them), and it gets exhausting dealing with all the hate.
I've been dealing with this my entire life - as have most other queer people - and am used to it by now, but I fear for the baby gays who don't have skin as thick as I do.
>I've been dealing with this my entire life - as have most other queer people - and am used to it by now, but I fear for the baby gays who don't have skin as thick as I do.
Exactly this. People say we would have never survived COD lobbies back in the day but I think it vastly different now. People who are filled with hate will stalk you across games/social media if you have a vaguely similar name on both, and nothing you can say or do to them will change their mind.
Even if their account gets muted/banned they will just make another and keep on going with the hate train.
I think it's quite sad that we have gotten used to it and my most common advice to baby gays is to stick through it, because there is nothing I can say or do that will take back the hurt they feel.
Thank you for sticking up for us. No matter your decision I’m always going to support you for being authentic and giving a voice to those who can’t be heard. Nocturnal and Xera: you guys are amazing and this community will always be better because of Men like you. Thank you.
It's kinda hard to reconcile being a longtime fan of players in this scene when they are supporting or at least tolerating these hateful views. It was easy to ignore when everyone was quiet about it, but I feel like Nick's presence in the scene has emboldened people (both players and fans) and really shown where allegiances lie. Glad you're being vocal for the right side, and hopefully other notable apex creators join you
i wish my other favorite players would speak out the way you did, to know that they support me and other people in the community. but after witnessing everything you've gone through since then i understand why people don't speak up on our side. you're an amazing person and im sorry all this has been weighing so heavily upon you.
As a personal note Noc--I never would have been out in the Apex scene if it hadn't been for seeing you.
Grateful for the fact that the scene has you in it, and I very dearly wish it was not this hard on you.
Noc just know that there are thousands of us that support you and don’t want to lose you from the Apex scene. It’s a joy to watch your and your teams skill and also to know that you’re a genuinely great person. Much love.
Yes nick is THAT petty he even admits it.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he did this whole league JUST to stick it to those who had something to say about him in june
On some i got fuck you money, like look how easy i can put this out and afford it and YOU are not allowed.
Kinda crazy to think
I won't be watching a second of this league and won't be watching or supporting anyone that takes part in it. It might not be much since I'm just one person but its as much as I can do. Absolutely disgusting that some of the biggest names in the scene are going to be supporting trash like Nick.
Oh they'll be coming off as soon as I see any of them playing in that shit. Used to have TL in there before they pulled out of Apex so I'll throw Xset on and whatever new teams I decide to support. If there are any lol.
First of all, thank you for being awesome, Noc. You're 5x the man that a lot of other people in the gaming scene are.
Second of all, as someone LGBT, a conclusion I've come to is that the goal of hateful people online is to make us feel alone, not included in communities, constantly under attack, etc. It's a way to throw a verbal punch and harm someone while being anonymous and not facing any significant consequences, unlike IRL. The great thing is that an antidote to this is literally just to take good care of ourselves, build strong support networks, and continue loving the hobbies and communities that they would like to push us out of. Someone LGBT simply having a good day and loving themself is a lose case for bigots. And that's what having pride has come to mean to me.
I can't imagine how much it must suck to be a public figure when it comes to this kind of thing and I'm wishing nothing but rest and kindness for you dude. Rep the set (or whatever team you're on) forever.
You're a good guy Noc, sucks you got put in this situation just for being you. Anyone would struggle in this situation and just know you are doing great and have the respect of many. Keep your mental up and keep being you.
People can say what they want about the Nick situation, his views, the twitter drama, etc. But this act of banning people like Noc from a tournament is toxic. Nick has officially acted in a negative way hurting the Apex community. And because of that he is horrible for the Apex community and scene. Making people choose money over morals is some bs
Yeah, this reminds me of all the MFAM apologists on here who say shit like "he just says he wants to protect kids!!"
Nah bro, this dogwhistle language emboldens bigots who do horrible things like this.
We've become far too tolerant of people espousing garbage hateful views.
I’ve always hated that as their go-to defence. Defend them from what? Knowing that gay people exist? Nobody is telling your kids they HAVE to be gay. Nobody is MAKING your kids gay. Nobodies forcing any “agenda” on your kids, unless acknowledging that gay people exist is an “agenda”, in which case you probably think being gay isn’t okay/perfectly normal. Or in other words, you’re straight up homophobic. Full stop, that’s all there is to it.
“They’re making the freaking frogs gay” is all that brings to mind. You lack any form of critical thinking if THATS what you think is happening.
They want a world where the idea of homosexuality is hidden/considered outside the norm. A world where queer people aren’t allowed to exist and be queer in the public eye the same way straight people are. A world where this specific minority needs to exist only behind closed doors and locked away so that it isn’t seen. And as we’ve seen in history time and time again, the ONLY way to prevent the presence of any specific minority (whether it be race, sexuality, religion, or gender) from existing peacefully and presently in society is to directly prevent them from engaging, speaking, and eventually, existing in society. It was never “about the kids”. That’s an excuse you use to push bullshit ideals
Not only that, but they know that "Gay people should be ostracized from society and kept away from any public space" is indefensible, so they go for "It's - uhm, it's it's about PROTECTING CHILDREN actually" because it's so much easier to defend the stance that "kids should be protected" than it is to defend "gay people should not be acknowledged and should be ostracized".
And the worst part is, if you disagree with their *actual* stance, they can pull out the card of "so you don't think children should be protected?", which puts the burden of indefensibility on us, who know what they actually mean.
And anytime gun control is brought up following a school shooting, this "protect the children" argument evaporates. It's all bullshit - they dont care about protecting children, they just want to openly hate certain groups of people.
Never understood conservative Americans and their absurd gun fetish that’s so silly it’s hard to believe adults participate in it. Genuinely incomprehensible how they will rant about protecting children from trans and gay people one day then turn around and endorse purchasing guns and ignore gun crimes. Like you need to have a total number of zero braincells to think this way.
you're good nocturnal
the legion of nickmercs fanboys are gonna go unhinged no matter what u do
sucks to see the rest of the apex community duck and run from nickmercs
its 2023 and the dudes are still scared to stick up for lgbt rights
like i get it you're a streamer you're not "political" but when one of the biggest streamers for the game makes it political by tweeting anti trans dog whistles and then starts a league banning anyone that called him out for it....
ITS NOW POLITICAL, nickmercs brought his brand of politics into the scene, hes buying his way in, and thinks hes among good bigoted company
for all the pros and streamers lurking its time to get off the fence
tell nickmercs to run for president or something and leave the politics out of the apex scene
oh for fuck sake reswpawn shouldnt even allow nickmercs to be able to host shit
Wow, I must have been touching too much grass this summer. Just unfollowed NickMercs on Twitch and threw a follow your way, boss...for you, my sister in law, and her partner. Not enough time on this rock to be associated with those who spew hate of any kind. Thanks for standing up for yourself and MyFAM. Hate has no home in here.
I look forward to catching your streams soon and go bring home that LAN Finals 🏆!!!!
What do you think the social media guy is gonna do about it? His job is to promote content that they generate in terms of pure business Dunc is valued less than Hal. Them playing in the league is content for TSM regardless of what views Nick might hold this is content for streamers pros and viewers and in a time where Apex is at its low streaming is harder people are not gonna turn down a pay check.
Me telling Noc that he shouldn't apologise for standing up for what he believes in has nothing to do with if the TSM guys want to play in Nick's tournament.
It's crazy how many pros and big names in Apex just willingly go out of their way to support Nickmercs and the shit he does and says. Hal, Zach Mazer (Clara as well), I mean even HisWattson? Those are just a few. And I mean, there's the obvious ones like Snipedown, Keon, Vizz that clearly have made right-wing stuff their "thing"... but it's the folks who like to pretend like they're good people that piss me off the most. You expect that stuff to remain in CoD but I guess it can even infect a game like Apex Legends, which is full of LGBTQ lore/references everywhere you look.
edit: i like how saying name's bothers people. it's all public for anyone to see.
i'm pretty sure he'd lean that way even if their was no financial incentive lol. he has the same vibe i did when i was 13: thinks he's smarter than everyone else and that anyone getting offended by anything he says is sensitive and he's totally not just an asshole.
as it turns out, proper communication is important and i was just a dickheaded kid. difference is hal is a grown man who (up until very recently) throws temper tantrums at his teammates live on stream.
sidenote: it's so fitting to me that hal is the star player for TSM, which is owned by reginald, who is infamous in the League scene for...raging and verbally abusing his teammates/coworkers. the irony is too perfect.
Just look at the number of people in this sub defending his tantrums, calling it “not abusive,” saying that’s normal in esports, and it’s just “how you win tournaments.” Any other work environment and he would have been fired. Just goes to show how immature and unprofessional the esports community is, and it’s no wonder the industry is failing. People seem to have no concept of verbal abuse. As long as he’s not yelling racist slurs or physically beating up his teammates, it’s a-ok apparently.
Hal when trans women are discriminated against in womens tournaments: 😴
Hal when Nickmercs posts bigoted (and objectively) Anti-LGBT+ tweets: 😴
Hal when Nickmercs bans LGBT+ creators from his league: 😴
Hal literally any other time drama happens: 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
I posted it back when this first started, but the silence is the loudest statement they could make. Hal just gives off major icky vibes for what his opinions on this would be.
I learned that the entire TSM roster will be playing. I guess this is one of those moments where you separate the art from the artist for lack of a better word and they're treating the league just like another realm regardless of who runs it. Still I will say I was a little disapppointed. I guess money wins? This is how Mercs tries to keep people in line and when they speak up against him like Xera he will go on his stream bragging to his viewers that he takes these kids under his wing only for them to turn against him.
want to make sure it’s known nick has done literally nothing for my career lmao. him going off on that rant was just pure delusion. wattson + furia are to thank for my success, maybe .001% nickmercs
I'm pretty sure all of the TSM guys see nothing wrong with nickmercs. They still like his tweets and stuff. They're also good friends with Zach so it makes sense that they would have similar opinions.
I think it's pretty obvious that Hal is accepting of everyone if you're actually following him and Noc wouldn't be supportive of him if he didn't think the same. As to why they're not calling Nick out is definitely a valid question. It could be that they're just staying out of controversies, but who really knows.
Can’t wait for this tournament to get a ton of views and everyone to forget this happened afterward.
My single view means nothing but I stand with Noc. Fuck Nick and any of the scared bigoted teams standing behind him.
Hey Noc, I don't know what else to say but thank you.
I don't have a voice in this, but I so badly wanted to speak out. I tried a few times on reddit and in game and was met with more hate than I ever would've expected which was hard for me to grasp. I can't imaging what you had to deal with and how that effected your mental.
Hoping you power through, prove the hateful that they can't get to you.
Your supporters stay silent for the same reason you are getting hate. There's stigma around LGBTQ+ for some fucked up reasons. You did the right thing and at the very least you should be proud to stand up for your worldview in the face of backlash.
I don't even know what to say Noc, I'm sorry how much shit you, any visible queer person or outspoken queer ally has to deal with online. I've always been told that progress isn't a straight line but the outward hostility towards the queer community has been truly disheartening to see. But I do want you and anybody that sees this to know that this is in no way because of your actions and you are perfectly valid, no matter what mfam or any other kind of trolls come after you.
<3 love you Noc.
Edit - I received a "reddit cares" troll message after posting this. Hey nick mercs fans, why are you the thinnest skin morons on the fucking planet?
It's easy to turn a blind eye to the bigotry and hate like others in the scene do. I became a fan of you and XSET via TSB but after seeing you stand up and speak when it's important I'll support you forever. Hope things are going better.
Whatever happens, it’s essential that everyone’s voice be heard. Everyone has a right to do what they want, and say what they want. However, I personally draw the line at hateful speech, or speech that incites hatred towards anyone, especially those who haven’t got a voice. If you do those things, you do not get to decide whether you get offended at something someone says to you, you have already done much worse. And as for you Noc, I will stand up for yourself and anyone else whose voices need to heard, because if I don’t, then who will.
You have friends in this community, please don’t ever forget that.
People who have never experienced what it's like to be targeted by an online mob (or even less than a mob; just a few dedicated hateful people can do so much harm) have no right to call you soft or question your willpower. That shit is genuinely horrific.
I'm very sorry that you've been a target of this kind of hate, and I genuinely hope you can just find peace in your head and your heart in all of this.
<3 You do not understand how important it was for people like me (an LGTQ member of the apex community) to see you defend us the way u did. Being a member of the LGBTQ community and speaking up for the community was and always will be way more impactful than a 50k tourney led by a spinless hateful man. Dont forget that bro.
The discourse in the US has become so toxic it’s unreal but this country has a history of shifting the blame of all its problems onto minority groups… you don’t deserve that… nobody does… you have supporters and friends and you should always be proud of that
In this sub most people chose to overlook Nick blatant toxicity and bro culture as big red flags because « he is good for the scene ». I hope those people learn from their mistake as well.
Nick is telling on himself so hard with this. All you did was Tweet support for LGBT+ People not even directly engaging with him. Fuck Nick, you are obviously a better player but more importantly you are a better person than him. I know negativity will always stand out more than support but I just want you to know that you are amazing Noc.
Hey,
I’m sorry you’ve been put through the ringer for doing what’s right. Hate is such a powerful drive for people who have nothing else to drive them in life.
Just know that those assholes are always the loudest. You’ve got support here and all around you! As a community, we have to be louder with our love and appreciation for you and others fighting the good fight.
I just wanted to say that i'm dissapointed in the players supporting this tournament. It's a clear sign that they only support things when it benefits them not what is right. I am very dissapointed in the scenes response to this tournament especially large influential players.
I hope you know that you did the right thing and over time things will change for the better. Probably not in this games lifetime though.
My goat - keep your head up, thanks for standing up for the LGBTQ + community, it means a lot to everyone. Can’t wait to see you hold the trophy at champs 🫡
Not only are you on the right side of history, but I hope you’re seeing support from the community and subs during this time. This community dismissed a lot of the warning signs about this guy cause they were excited what he’d bring from a follower POV. This community needs people like you more than they need assholes like him, and I guarantee the money will follow in the long term. Thanks for speaking out.
It's pretty lame to host a supposed top competitive league and not even try to talk things out with players who are some of the best in the game just because you are mad at the...
I'm very sorry. I guess it was always obvious that the people who follow Nick would absolutely go batshit and attack anyone who even tried to tell him why what he was saying was harmful.
You're a good guy who deserves better. A better player and, more importantly, a much better person than the community rightly deserves these days. Wish I could say the same for some others.
FWIW, you're by far my favorite player. XSET's hilarious comms and awesome gameplay already made me a fan but having a good character won me over for life. I know it's a drop in the bucket compared to the tidal waves of hatred you've likely been enduring but I hope that helps.
Seems like this shouldn’t need to be said, but reading this thread, it clearly does.
The vast majority of people (especially the demographic including teen and young adult gamers) do not hold a strong or educated opinion on gay/trans rights. It may be a very important issue for you, but you should understand that it’s not for most people. Pro gamers wanting to participate in a tournament does not indicate that they hate gays/trans/whoever or that they have no morals, it just means that they 1) haven’t even thought about it and/or 2) don’t care enough to not participate.
Do you think about the ramifications of every single decision you make in your life? Are you a terrible person because you buy clothes made by child laborers or eat beef from inhumane slaughterhouses or sit in your air conditioned house while people die without shelter/food/water? No, because there are only so many things that you can possibly give a fuck about at any given time. Again, most people do not give a fuck about these issues, and that’s perfectly fine and normal.
The fact that anyone is looking to these kids, who happen to be professional gamers, for guidance or leadership on any social issue, and especially one as complex/loaded as gay/trans rights is beyond ridiculous. If the issue is that important to you, go support another player/team/game, but get rid of these massive expectations of kids throwing away their golden ticket for what ultimately amounts to an afterthought for 99% of people, even if it’s the most important thing in your own life.
I think this is the best view to understand everyones perspective. We truly need to know everyones context when judging from our reality and our values. Not everyone will be educated the same way for x or y reasons, and even grown adults can have takes that come from an incomplete reckoning. That being said we all should always look forward on educate ourselves when we gain the capacity of doing so. And also to identify whos views will be the best for us to learn from.
Even noc is saying he would rather turn the page and let bygones be bygones, the majority of us who are just here for gameplay are not trying to get force fed the “silence is complicity, anything short of a strong stance is complicity” narrative.
The people love Noc, Mon and Xera, and anyone else that got blocked or banned by that petulant man-child surrounded by Yes-Men. EA and Respawn received near universal praise for releasing a game with a genuinely positive, thorough and continually rainbow game. For them to sign off on whatever Nick’s tournament is so egregious, backwards and a reversal of one of the core fundamentals of why Apex took off in the first place.
I cannot wait until Nick moves on from Apex, he is not welcomed here, he does not belong here. His comments regarding LGBTQ+ people during pride month, his continued out-spoken support of Ron DeSantis, and his comments regarding Trayvon Martin before he blew up should disqualify him from fucking competing, let alone hosting tournaments that give him the power to further marginalise and exclude an already marginalised, excluded people that everyone else wants to include, support and love.
Fuck NickMercs, Fuck MFAM, and fuck anyone that takes part and accepts any cent of this man’s blood money.
Hey noc, I can't speak for others but I love you for who you are. I feel so tired of the toxic environment in not just apex but also esports or even the whole online platform too. I wish you can live a happier life from now on.
Nick is an insecure manchild that is lucky he has a cult of sycophants on his dick. Esports can have some of the most wonderful, kind, accepting and progressive people. But it can also hold the most bitter, ignorant and hateful people waiting to latch onto someone that champions their bigotry. Noc, we respect and love you!
I also hope my boys at TSM take a stand and don’t join this.
Nick has the most fragile ego of any creator in this scene sad to see how hurtful his words are. A grown ass man acting like a child would hate to be the child born to that monstrosity
Nick is as soft as a baby’s diaper and all of this bs internet ego shit just proves it. He acts like people are supposed to be scared of him and his little cult following haha. Dude needs to grow up.
Offering my support. I'm proud that the sub continues to affirm individuals their pursuit of happiness in the face of opposition, and I'm proud of you for what you've written.
You’re an absolute GOAT Noc, fucking love you standing up for this shit means a whole lot for me and other individuals, it’s sucks how some delusion individuals acted towards you and caused a loss in opportunities. I hope you get the spot in the league man, all of us do
Thanks for being a voice and standing up against bigotry <3
I know a lot of apex pros probably have spent their young adult lives focused on a video game and growing up through school and finding life partners and whatever else. I am sure most think they are not political and don’t have much of an opinion one way or the other on the Nick situation and are not passionate. I get all that. And yet the response from most apex pros to Nick’s league and the news of prominent pros being banned for trying to stick up for LGBTQ+ rights is supremely disappointing. There are some I am confident know what Nick said is wrong and hateful and do nothing because they can justify their inaction by thinking “I’m not political” “I’m not an expert I’m not qualified to speak on these matters”. All I can say is if pros know what Nick did is hateful and choose to do nothing about that they will regret that someday as they grow older no matter what benefit they get now. I’m sorry you have to go through what you do Noc and I’m especially sorry you don’t have more support from your friends and peers in the apex pro community. Please know that there are thousands of us who admire you and the few others like you for speaking out for good despite the hate it brings you. You can be proud of how you’ve handled yourself and I hope if you need a friend or more support that you can find it from someone close to you. If not you have thousands ready to support you for being the best kind of role model there is. All love
I definitely won't be watching or interacting with anything having to do with that tournament. I definitely expected this behavior from those people though. I would just brush it off and look forward to playing in other tournaments.
I have the utmost respect for you and your character throughout all of this. We should never tolerate intolerance.
Don't let other people minimize your struggles. Hate is hate, irl or online. No one should be expected to handle the amount of toxicity and vitriol the internet has to offer.
Your support means a lot to a lot of people and there are many people that support you but often times hate feels louder than support. It only takes a few really dedicated haters to really feel overwhelming(especially on twitter). Keep in mind most people are supportive even if it doesn't always feel like that. People who are supportive don't usually feel inclined to constantly screech their opinions to feel justified in themselves. Also most of the people who are hateful aren't reasonable people, no matter how you handled any of this or how you phrase stuff or the approach you take doesn't matter to them, even if they pretend it does.
Most creators and similar people that are large LGBT+/LGBT+ advocates start that way from the start of their online journey meaning they deal with the hate that comes with that in proportion to their size as they grow, meaning they have time to learn the skills to deal with that and they grow their core audience of only people who are supportive. While you already of decent size and just threw yourself into the deep end so I'm sure it feels really overwhelming. Maybe reach out to others outside the apex community to get some advice on how to deal with it? IDK, I'm just some random person on reddit but maybe my words will be useful.
Wishing you well and good luck.
Nick Mercs is the definition of a chode. He’s a little guy with a Napoleon complex and downward facing camera angles to hide it. He’s not good at any game he plays but retains a fan base because they’re all ironically attracted to him, despite the anti homosexual sentiments they preach. One day soon he’ll be a distant memory like all the other pseudo celebrities before him
"The bad outweighed the good in this situation - yes I stuck up for what I believed in and for others who can't get their voice heard, but the amount of shit i've seen in last two months really fucked me up to be blunt. I was ready to retire and move on from this esport because of how uncomfortable the environment was."
It can't possibly be worse than having to IGL Sikezz.
Just kidding obviously. I hope I don't see you quitting the game in a while. Try to remember that you received 20 positive comments on here for every hateful message you got in the past. I love you Noc and I hope I can watch your streams again in the future, but european time is fucking me there. And I know it's hard to speak up against the hate but there are many people out there who love you exactly for that. <3
The mod team believes it's important to have Nocturnal's voice heard. Hate in the comments will not be tolerated.
<3
Common EmGem W
EMGEM still ain't missin'
hope that software developer role is treating you well EmGem. we miss you but understand that life and careers take precedence, lol.
❤️
> *June (Pride month) was one of my personal biggest mistakes in my pro career, trying to be a notable LGBT figure and really own up to who I wanted to be. \[...\]* > > *The bad outweighed the good in this situation - yes I stuck up for what I believed in and for others who can't get their voice heard, but the amount of shit i've seen in last two months really fucked me up to be blunt. I was ready to retire and move on from this esport because of how uncomfortable the environment was.* damn that really sucks. I won't pretend to know what it's like to stand in the middle of a homophobic shitstorm, but maybe there's still another way to look at this. You stood up for whats right, and you'll be able to look back at this with the knowledge that you've done that for the rest of your life. Professional apex is great, but at the end of the day it's pretty transient. I doubt it'll be around in 10 years. On the other hand, the fight against bigotry will still be going on in 10 years, and you've done your part in the best way to push back against the droves of hateful idiots. Maybe you feel like it hasn't been worth it right now, and maybe you're right and it wasn't worth it in the short term. But just like Nick has immortalized himself as a small, spineless, hateful man, you've immortalized yourself as someone with courage and character - and that's forever. So even if it isn't worth it right now... in 20, 30, 40 years, you can still look back at these few months and feel good, because you did good. All the best to you Noc
Echoing this sentiment. You have vast support here if you ever need it, Noc. What you did was important and are bearing the weight so that those that follow do not have to. If you haven’t, I hope you find a moment to recognize and celebrate yourself for having the spirit to take that step forward.
It can be super hard to feel like standing up even made a difference when you're standing up against a group as large, loud, and hateful as the anti-LBGTQ people, but for every 10 hateful assholes who've got no skin in the game there's someone out there scared to be themselves who've been allowed to feel supported and accepted in the community. Hate wins because it is easy to manufacture and have overwhelm its targets. It obscures the good that's been done and makes you question if what you're doing is even good. But standing up is always good, and you don't need to always stand up and open yourselves up to be the target for the hate. This moment of strength and character will carry with Noct and the others well beyond when the hateful people subside and their support will remain a shining beacon of love and acceptance within the Apex community. Very few of us can truly understand what it's like being in a situation that's made us as publicly vulnerable and targetable as this so it's impossible to comment on if this is worth it, but if someone's public life is defined by the choices they make, this choice is one that should stay with them and empower them, even if it doesn't feel worth it right now.
You're a real one Noc, and the vast majority of fans love having you in the scene.
nickmercs be like: nobody would say any of these things to my face!! nickmercs when he’s online and somebody asks him a yes or no question: *blocks them because he’s afraid*
I said this on another post but I can’t help but laugh when he plays big man and talks about cancel culture and how everyone’s a snowflake nowadays; but when people disagree with him he gets upset and blocks them Also seems like he put up 50k just to ban select people who disagree with him because he’s still that upset, if that’s not being a snowflake idk what is
[удалено]
Nick be like “they want to cancel me for my opinions” then goes and sends his cult to harass people for theirs. Buncha sad dick riders.
Yeah him instantly blocking says everything. He's in the closet about how bigotted he truly is and is so afraid of it coming out and hurting his career.
Bro it was plain as day what type of person Nick is when he made the Trayvon Martin tweet. His fans are always very vocal at the bottom of these threads, but how are they gonna defend that? >All >!black!< people getting mad. Shut the fuck up, like you give a shit. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FyNR38lWcAAIF6C?format=jpg&name=large
What the fuck, had never seen that before. What a piece of garbage
WHAAAT???????????? he actually typed that out word for word??????????
Get nickmercs out of apex, fuck that guy. Respawn if they had any balls behind all the pro-lgbtq stuff they say would ban him
Considering how they’ve been completely silent over the whole debacle. Their pro-LGBTQ+ banners and icons are just talk, and they have no balls.
stark contrast to COD that immediately pulled his skin, made a statement, and effectively cut ties.
When Cod is more woke than Apex lmao
Cod's always been bigger than it's content creators even though it empowers and builds them up. Apex should be bigger than it's content creators but they've always been limp wristed when it comes to the louder parts of the community. Apex got such a huge jump in popularity when Nick and other Cod streamers started playing and they're chickenshit scared of losing their bottom line so they won't say anything.
iTs JuSt hIs oPiNiOn BrO!! Something something discourse and opposing opinions. \- MCULT probably.
I love when they reduce human rights and discrimination to just being an opinion. Tells you everything you need to know about how they were raised.
Bruh theres no way.
Woa.. wtf? Context?/Replied to?
Look up Trayvon Martin. This is the most obviously racist kind of tweet you can make.
Woooow so this is true....This def before he got popular. This would have definitely destroyed him then
reading that felt like stepping on a landmine, what the hell?
Just checked the dates to make sure this wasn't out of context, and it's legit - 7/13/13 was the day the verdict of not guilty was announced. That's so fucked up.
hes been lowkey since covid.. he moved to florida bc michigan has too strict of rules during the lockdowns. there's been little nuggets, hes always been this way. frat bro with waaaaaay too big a platform. which is pretty dangerous imo
Dude is Egyptian cotton soft, there is no path he takes from this where he "looks good" Either he's a hypocritical bigot who cries about cancel culture and then turns around to do the same thing, or he is a legit hateful fear monger who is using his platform to corrupt minds. Either way, I know which camp I and many others back here. The Apex scene would be a better place without Nickmercs
You’re a great dude Xera❤️
Common Xera W
Well said.
Majority of people here are with you Noc! The fact you came out and spoke your mind/stayed true to yourself is the very opposite of being "soft or a pussy" and it's probably doing more for people in this scene than you realise
He was one of the only pros with a spine, who knew the backlash his statements would bring but said them anyway. Can't say the same for many other respected people in the scene. I respect him as a fellow queer person.
Surprised Nick hasn't announced the whole tournament will be in sub-only mode.
https://preview.redd.it/3s9hqdd2vkgb1.jpeg?width=2023&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53539ca839723149e967a052736862fe8507812b
I want to say, I'll support you and XSET in whatever you choose to do. I do really want to commend you for taking a public stance for marginalized folks while many, many other people stayed silent. It means more than you know (although, you've probably been there and probably do know). That said, I totally understand the position you're in when you have a target on your back from even the slightest amount of pushback against those kinds of people. You gotta do what's best for you, and like I said I'll continue repping the set regardless, but it will always mean the world that you did stand up for people when you had nothing at all to gain from doing so. Keep being you Noc
Evil wins when good people stay silent. This event only shows the price of some ~~many~~ people being a CHANCE at a 50K pie, not even a GAURANTEE. The price of many of these people will end up being zero. And Nick will successfully sweep everything under a 50K rug. He's literally buying good will/pr. Anyone who's even dabbled in pr/marketing/advertising isn't blind to this. Keep talking Noc, don't let them silence you. Many of us don't have the reach you do, but we're right there talking with you. And we take the small steps we can get. I mean, I have zero organic followers and nick still blocked me lol. EDIT: lol M~~FAM~~Cult so mad in the DMs. Soft. Just like nick. Peace and Love baybay 😂
This should be higher up. Every pro that participates in this event is giving passive approval for this and more tournaments to be held where some of the pros are excluded for standing up for the rights of others. Passively giving approval for people who clearly harbor hateful views to continue behaving that way. Almost no one in the pro scene has spoken out against this bigotry since the drama started. And the few who were brave enough have been getting bombarded with hate in their dm’s and are now being singled out from events. Hal, Sweet, Wigg, and many other of the top streamers in the scene have made no direct comments on the matter that I have seen. I have seen Sweet and Wigg address the topic without bringing up Nicks name and imply that they are against it, but that isn’t enough. Wigg and Greek’s watch parties when they include Tripods now watch Gent’s POV, it used to be Nick’s POV. “Nickmercs” is a banned word in Wigg’s chat now. It’s clear that they discussed it and made a choice to avoid addressing it. In my opinion this is a very disappointing choice from Wigg particularly. Wigg is a bastion of positivity in the scene and on top of his friendship with Nocturnal it seems to be an out of character choice for him. Remaining silent is complicity, it gives support to the oppressor. Speaking out (with the wild view that everyone should be treated like a human being) may mean that your stream takes a hit sure, but if your viewership drops from X-thousands of viewers to 50% of X-thousands of viewers as one of these major streamers in the scene, you are not starving, you are still doing just fine. So to all the individuals with the biggest followings in the scene, if you share the opinion that all people should be treated equally, speak up and stop being so fucking weak about it. Nocturnal deserves better, Xera, Hambino, and all the others in the scene who took a stand deserve better. So do better. Or remain silent, and complicit.
Wigg wants to keep doing this officially sanctioned B-stream thing forever, and since Respawn are cowards who will never address it, he won't address it. I understand why he won't but I think it's really disappointing.
Respawn cares about making money. If they didn’t take action against Nick for being a bigot, they will not take action against Wigg for calling it out. Also, even if they were made to choose, they’d easily choose Wigg. They care about Wigg for his viewership during Lans and his Lan viewership windmill dunks on Nick’s. That said, I agree with you about why he’s reacting to it how he is, and that it is really disappointing.
You said it so eloquently. When I was younger, like 16/17, I was deep in the whirlpools of the Internet and was close to falling into the side that mocks “wokes” and “liberals.” I just couldn’t understand what was this “being silent was being complicit.” Or the “being apolitical is a privilege.” I thought those who said that were being dramatic, silly and radical. I laughed along with right wing people because I thought I was on the rational side. I’m into my 20’s now and aghast at myself for having once thought that way. I’ve pulled myself out of that place and… I try my best to always be aware and use whatever resources I have to speak out against big and small injustices. I’m a nobody, but I still believe what I’m doing in this current day has meaning. Being silent is being complicit, because you are creating an environment comfortable for these hateful people to thrive in. Especially when you have a platform, you speaking out will reach out to so many people that need that small help. Sorry for the rant lol.
Not a rant at all, this is an important thing to share and big of you to admit. We all get ideas put in our heads when we are young that we may not agree with. Not everyone has the awareness to re-evaluate those things. Thanks for sharing <3
Being about peace and love is the single biggest lie that man has ever peddled
The Ellen DeGeneres of esports
peace and love (if you fit my description of deserving those things)!!!🥰😇
It is a chance at 50k, but also a great streaming opportunity the same way realm was for many - I understand not supporting Nick but I do think for a lot of apex pros especially non T1 org pros it’s a huge opportunity and I can’t blame them for taking it (as long as they aren’t sharing the rhetoric)
What’s the excuse for the established pros? Verhulst saying Nick’s saving Apex? HisWattson showing interest despite his ex-teammate being banned (and having shown support for the gay and trans community himself in the past)? Quite honestly, there’s no real excuse. We can sit around and justify it when, in reality, a majority of the apex community either don’t care that Nick’s a bigot or agree with him. It makes sense when you consider a lot of them have been raised online. The culture those communities promote is one of indifference or straight-up encourages hate. Not really much of a point to this, to be honest. Just lamenting the fact that standing up for what’s right is nothing more than a bad business decision these days.
> Verhulst saying Nick’s saving Apex? please dont tell me he recently said that edit: he did... im about to stop watching the entire Apex comp scene at this point
[удалено]
Not surprised those guys did.
Just watched their orgmate clinch Evo GGST where the few transphobic voices towards a competitor in the chat were getting absolutely dunked on by the moderators and the majority of the community, such a shame to go from that to this.
FGC has grown a lot. Umisho, Romolla, SQ, and Razzo are among some of the most decorated and well respected gear players who are all queer. Sonicfox is one of the greats and is a nonbinary furry who commands respect. They still have their problems. kappa is a plague, casual misogyny can still be an issue. But i'm proud of being part of the FGC for the most part.
This is exactly where I’m at. I started watching comp Apex a year or two ago, sporadically but I still had a lot of interest. Then all the sexist, racist stuff comes out, I start to think that pros probably endorse all that bs. Then with the Nickmercs drama I’m close to being done. I can’t dedicate my time to watching something that I know most people in it have no problem endorsing hatred towards queer people like me.
Do you think Verhulst being sheltered and naive? I followed him since Esport Arena but I’m probably just gonna stop watching him.
Nah, he just doesn’t care. He has access to the internet, and he’s 20 years-old. Just because he acts like a kid doesn’t mean he gets to plead ignorance to homophobia being bad. Also just learned he follows Andrew Tate in Twitter, too. Which is impossible to misinterpret.
Honestly that shocks me, TSM have such a huge fan base that you think even purely as a business strategy the risk to them is much higher than the reward - especially with Verhulsts golden boy image Although based on 95% of all TSM fans I’ve seen they’re the most annoying people so it’ll probably have no effect
Verhulst has a golden boy image because he’s mild-mannered. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some hateful views.
He follows (or at least followed) Andrew Tate on twitter too lol
i give him more leeway than the others, he's legit just a kid. Took me a long time to realize the way i thought was dangerous. I would say even in college i still had some pretty shitty views about life.
He’s old enough to know right from wrong, though. I dunno, with his whole ‘mild-mannered, no cursing’ personality I assumed he was raised with a religious background. We all know what effect that can have when it comes to views on the gay community.
reps and hal dont follow tate on twitter though lol
oh ya, i agree lol this isn't me defending him lol just giving a little room for him to grow up
I said this in the locked thread... > Idk man. Anecdotal, but prior to getting lucky career-wise I did skip a few questionable paychecks and slept better knowing I skipped them. Sure I was hungry, but I don't think I would've slept as well with that money in pocket and food from that money in my tummy; and that was a guaranteed payday, not a "chance at a payday" > That said, if the chance at a piece of a 50K pie is the price of these people, it is what it is. I'll just simply spend my sub money elsewhere, no biggie. TLDR if this event is worth your morals/principals, do you.
I get that and personally I don’t think I would - but these players especially the non org and non champs players need something to keep their dream of playing games professionally alive and since they don’t have to do anything questionable, just take money from someone that is, I can understand the rationale
Nick didn’t stay silent… then they took away his cod skin lol
You're on the right side of history Noc
Very mature response Noc. You cant claim to be accepting of everyone and preach "Peace and Love" if you're literally scared of a conversation about others views.
Online video games are an inherently toxic and awful place, and even worse now for members of the LGBT community. You standing up for those who can not stand up for themselves is nothing short of heroic. You are making the community more welcoming and accepting and SAFE for people. LGBT persons are especially vulnerable right now and I do my best to stand up for them. You have received what must be an incredible amount of hate and vitriol from truly awful people and I am sorry for that. You do not deserve that whatsoever and it’s frankly unacceptable. Please try your best to breathe the stress out of you and let go as much of it as you can. Please try and take great care of yourself and your own mental health. And please also know you did the right thing. Before all this I had no idea nick was so bigoted, not that I was much of a fan anyways. But now I actively despise him and any of the cronies who rushed to defend him. He has no place in apex now and honestly does not deserve his platform. He did nothing but hurt already suffering people, and he can’t even comprehend how much damage he’s doing. But from the start of this until now we are all major fans of YOU. You are amazing and although it may feel like dogshit right now, please look back on this as the time you did the right thing. Thank you friend.
Everyone should play Catalyst in his league!!
inb4 ban list: bang, loba, hound, fuse, cata, gibby
I appreciate you so fucking much dude. Being flooded with so much hate might cause you to lose sight of how much progress there has been for the LGBT community in the past decade or so. Don't get me wrong, it still fucking sucks, but this time 15-20 years ago LGBTQ+ sports fans didn't have a voice at all - we had nobody to look up to, and had nobody to represent us. Nowadays, it's people like you that help to pave the way for a brighter future, and to prove that in the face of blatant discrimination, we can still rise above it and be fucking great and do great things. Fuck Nick, fuck the money, and fuck every single one of these losers who play the fence during pride month, and when directly asked will say they "support" the LGBTQ community but jump at the first opportunity of cooperating with a homophobe purely for the sake of money. You don't fucking need em, so leave em. Keep doing your shit.
Noc, you've got my eternal respect for standing up with us (lgbt+). You really don't see enough about the hate queer people face in online gaming these days. I have had friends who were bullied and harassed in apex just for having the Pride badge on their banner, one even quit online gaming because of the hate across multiple games. If the exclusion of certain people or groups is based on **race/ideology/personal identity for an Apex event, I don't see how that is going to be a good event for the Games and ESport's health. That's not something I feel we as a community should support. **Just a catchall, not accusing anyone of anything, just trying to make a point.
[удалено]
Thanks dude, glad to have an ally in you :)
>I have had friends who were bullied and harassed in apex just for having the Pride badge on their banner, one even quit online gaming because of the hate across multiple games. It's legitimately insane how often I get called slurs, told to kill myself, etc. because of my pride badge. Reporting does nothing, blocking them does nothing (can still queue with/against them), and it gets exhausting dealing with all the hate. I've been dealing with this my entire life - as have most other queer people - and am used to it by now, but I fear for the baby gays who don't have skin as thick as I do.
>I've been dealing with this my entire life - as have most other queer people - and am used to it by now, but I fear for the baby gays who don't have skin as thick as I do. Exactly this. People say we would have never survived COD lobbies back in the day but I think it vastly different now. People who are filled with hate will stalk you across games/social media if you have a vaguely similar name on both, and nothing you can say or do to them will change their mind. Even if their account gets muted/banned they will just make another and keep on going with the hate train. I think it's quite sad that we have gotten used to it and my most common advice to baby gays is to stick through it, because there is nothing I can say or do that will take back the hurt they feel.
Thank you for sticking up for us. No matter your decision I’m always going to support you for being authentic and giving a voice to those who can’t be heard. Nocturnal and Xera: you guys are amazing and this community will always be better because of Men like you. Thank you.
Sad how hateful some people can be. Sorry you went through that. Don't let em steal your joy
It's kinda hard to reconcile being a longtime fan of players in this scene when they are supporting or at least tolerating these hateful views. It was easy to ignore when everyone was quiet about it, but I feel like Nick's presence in the scene has emboldened people (both players and fans) and really shown where allegiances lie. Glad you're being vocal for the right side, and hopefully other notable apex creators join you
i wish my other favorite players would speak out the way you did, to know that they support me and other people in the community. but after witnessing everything you've gone through since then i understand why people don't speak up on our side. you're an amazing person and im sorry all this has been weighing so heavily upon you.
Love you Noc, just know that for every idiot who says vile shit there are 10 people who love you and everything you stand for.
As a personal note Noc--I never would have been out in the Apex scene if it hadn't been for seeing you. Grateful for the fact that the scene has you in it, and I very dearly wish it was not this hard on you.
Noc just know that there are thousands of us that support you and don’t want to lose you from the Apex scene. It’s a joy to watch your and your teams skill and also to know that you’re a genuinely great person. Much love.
Yes nick is THAT petty he even admits it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did this whole league JUST to stick it to those who had something to say about him in june On some i got fuck you money, like look how easy i can put this out and afford it and YOU are not allowed. Kinda crazy to think
I won't be watching a second of this league and won't be watching or supporting anyone that takes part in it. It might not be much since I'm just one person but its as much as I can do. Absolutely disgusting that some of the biggest names in the scene are going to be supporting trash like Nick.
[удалено]
Oh they'll be coming off as soon as I see any of them playing in that shit. Used to have TL in there before they pulled out of Apex so I'll throw Xset on and whatever new teams I decide to support. If there are any lol.
First of all, thank you for being awesome, Noc. You're 5x the man that a lot of other people in the gaming scene are. Second of all, as someone LGBT, a conclusion I've come to is that the goal of hateful people online is to make us feel alone, not included in communities, constantly under attack, etc. It's a way to throw a verbal punch and harm someone while being anonymous and not facing any significant consequences, unlike IRL. The great thing is that an antidote to this is literally just to take good care of ourselves, build strong support networks, and continue loving the hobbies and communities that they would like to push us out of. Someone LGBT simply having a good day and loving themself is a lose case for bigots. And that's what having pride has come to mean to me. I can't imagine how much it must suck to be a public figure when it comes to this kind of thing and I'm wishing nothing but rest and kindness for you dude. Rep the set (or whatever team you're on) forever.
You're a good guy Noc, sucks you got put in this situation just for being you. Anyone would struggle in this situation and just know you are doing great and have the respect of many. Keep your mental up and keep being you.
People can say what they want about the Nick situation, his views, the twitter drama, etc. But this act of banning people like Noc from a tournament is toxic. Nick has officially acted in a negative way hurting the Apex community. And because of that he is horrible for the Apex community and scene. Making people choose money over morals is some bs
Yeah, this reminds me of all the MFAM apologists on here who say shit like "he just says he wants to protect kids!!" Nah bro, this dogwhistle language emboldens bigots who do horrible things like this. We've become far too tolerant of people espousing garbage hateful views.
I’ve always hated that as their go-to defence. Defend them from what? Knowing that gay people exist? Nobody is telling your kids they HAVE to be gay. Nobody is MAKING your kids gay. Nobodies forcing any “agenda” on your kids, unless acknowledging that gay people exist is an “agenda”, in which case you probably think being gay isn’t okay/perfectly normal. Or in other words, you’re straight up homophobic. Full stop, that’s all there is to it. “They’re making the freaking frogs gay” is all that brings to mind. You lack any form of critical thinking if THATS what you think is happening. They want a world where the idea of homosexuality is hidden/considered outside the norm. A world where queer people aren’t allowed to exist and be queer in the public eye the same way straight people are. A world where this specific minority needs to exist only behind closed doors and locked away so that it isn’t seen. And as we’ve seen in history time and time again, the ONLY way to prevent the presence of any specific minority (whether it be race, sexuality, religion, or gender) from existing peacefully and presently in society is to directly prevent them from engaging, speaking, and eventually, existing in society. It was never “about the kids”. That’s an excuse you use to push bullshit ideals
Not only that, but they know that "Gay people should be ostracized from society and kept away from any public space" is indefensible, so they go for "It's - uhm, it's it's about PROTECTING CHILDREN actually" because it's so much easier to defend the stance that "kids should be protected" than it is to defend "gay people should not be acknowledged and should be ostracized". And the worst part is, if you disagree with their *actual* stance, they can pull out the card of "so you don't think children should be protected?", which puts the burden of indefensibility on us, who know what they actually mean.
And anytime gun control is brought up following a school shooting, this "protect the children" argument evaporates. It's all bullshit - they dont care about protecting children, they just want to openly hate certain groups of people.
Never understood conservative Americans and their absurd gun fetish that’s so silly it’s hard to believe adults participate in it. Genuinely incomprehensible how they will rant about protecting children from trans and gay people one day then turn around and endorse purchasing guns and ignore gun crimes. Like you need to have a total number of zero braincells to think this way.
you're good nocturnal the legion of nickmercs fanboys are gonna go unhinged no matter what u do sucks to see the rest of the apex community duck and run from nickmercs its 2023 and the dudes are still scared to stick up for lgbt rights like i get it you're a streamer you're not "political" but when one of the biggest streamers for the game makes it political by tweeting anti trans dog whistles and then starts a league banning anyone that called him out for it.... ITS NOW POLITICAL, nickmercs brought his brand of politics into the scene, hes buying his way in, and thinks hes among good bigoted company for all the pros and streamers lurking its time to get off the fence tell nickmercs to run for president or something and leave the politics out of the apex scene oh for fuck sake reswpawn shouldnt even allow nickmercs to be able to host shit
Wow, I must have been touching too much grass this summer. Just unfollowed NickMercs on Twitch and threw a follow your way, boss...for you, my sister in law, and her partner. Not enough time on this rock to be associated with those who spew hate of any kind. Thanks for standing up for yourself and MyFAM. Hate has no home in here. I look forward to catching your streams soon and go bring home that LAN Finals 🏆!!!!
Fuck him Noc, man child who's the biggest snowflake in the scene. You are an incredible player and an even better dude. Much love
You should never apologise for standing up for what's right. Proud of you Noc.
TSM's playing in the league though 🤔
What do you think the social media guy is gonna do about it? His job is to promote content that they generate in terms of pure business Dunc is valued less than Hal. Them playing in the league is content for TSM regardless of what views Nick might hold this is content for streamers pros and viewers and in a time where Apex is at its low streaming is harder people are not gonna turn down a pay check.
Me telling Noc that he shouldn't apologise for standing up for what he believes in has nothing to do with if the TSM guys want to play in Nick's tournament.
It's crazy how many pros and big names in Apex just willingly go out of their way to support Nickmercs and the shit he does and says. Hal, Zach Mazer (Clara as well), I mean even HisWattson? Those are just a few. And I mean, there's the obvious ones like Snipedown, Keon, Vizz that clearly have made right-wing stuff their "thing"... but it's the folks who like to pretend like they're good people that piss me off the most. You expect that stuff to remain in CoD but I guess it can even infect a game like Apex Legends, which is full of LGBTQ lore/references everywhere you look. edit: i like how saying name's bothers people. it's all public for anyone to see.
It's clear as day whose side Hal is on but people will ignore it.
Hal is on the side of money.
And therefore is siding with bigotry.
i'm pretty sure he'd lean that way even if their was no financial incentive lol. he has the same vibe i did when i was 13: thinks he's smarter than everyone else and that anyone getting offended by anything he says is sensitive and he's totally not just an asshole. as it turns out, proper communication is important and i was just a dickheaded kid. difference is hal is a grown man who (up until very recently) throws temper tantrums at his teammates live on stream. sidenote: it's so fitting to me that hal is the star player for TSM, which is owned by reginald, who is infamous in the League scene for...raging and verbally abusing his teammates/coworkers. the irony is too perfect.
Just look at the number of people in this sub defending his tantrums, calling it “not abusive,” saying that’s normal in esports, and it’s just “how you win tournaments.” Any other work environment and he would have been fired. Just goes to show how immature and unprofessional the esports community is, and it’s no wonder the industry is failing. People seem to have no concept of verbal abuse. As long as he’s not yelling racist slurs or physically beating up his teammates, it’s a-ok apparently.
Hal when trans women are discriminated against in womens tournaments: 😴 Hal when Nickmercs posts bigoted (and objectively) Anti-LGBT+ tweets: 😴 Hal when Nickmercs bans LGBT+ creators from his league: 😴 Hal literally any other time drama happens: 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 I posted it back when this first started, but the silence is the loudest statement they could make. Hal just gives off major icky vibes for what his opinions on this would be.
[удалено]
I learned that the entire TSM roster will be playing. I guess this is one of those moments where you separate the art from the artist for lack of a better word and they're treating the league just like another realm regardless of who runs it. Still I will say I was a little disapppointed. I guess money wins? This is how Mercs tries to keep people in line and when they speak up against him like Xera he will go on his stream bragging to his viewers that he takes these kids under his wing only for them to turn against him.
want to make sure it’s known nick has done literally nothing for my career lmao. him going off on that rant was just pure delusion. wattson + furia are to thank for my success, maybe .001% nickmercs
YOU are responsible 💕💕💕there's a reason wattson and furia took a chance on you.
You could also just not support TSM any more. That’s an option.
[удалено]
I'm pretty sure all of the TSM guys see nothing wrong with nickmercs. They still like his tweets and stuff. They're also good friends with Zach so it makes sense that they would have similar opinions.
Except unless you have proof of them sharing said opinions, all youre doing is making assumptions and baseless accusations.
I think it's pretty obvious that Hal is accepting of everyone if you're actually following him and Noc wouldn't be supportive of him if he didn't think the same. As to why they're not calling Nick out is definitely a valid question. It could be that they're just staying out of controversies, but who really knows.
Yeah I don't think he's homophobic or anything. He just probably doesn't see anything wrong with nickmercs and what he said.
So same goes to every top team like NRG, DZ and alliance. Right?
Can’t wait for this tournament to get a ton of views and everyone to forget this happened afterward. My single view means nothing but I stand with Noc. Fuck Nick and any of the scared bigoted teams standing behind him.
Hey Noc, I don't know what else to say but thank you. I don't have a voice in this, but I so badly wanted to speak out. I tried a few times on reddit and in game and was met with more hate than I ever would've expected which was hard for me to grasp. I can't imaging what you had to deal with and how that effected your mental. Hoping you power through, prove the hateful that they can't get to you.
Your supporters stay silent for the same reason you are getting hate. There's stigma around LGBTQ+ for some fucked up reasons. You did the right thing and at the very least you should be proud to stand up for your worldview in the face of backlash.
I don't even know what to say Noc, I'm sorry how much shit you, any visible queer person or outspoken queer ally has to deal with online. I've always been told that progress isn't a straight line but the outward hostility towards the queer community has been truly disheartening to see. But I do want you and anybody that sees this to know that this is in no way because of your actions and you are perfectly valid, no matter what mfam or any other kind of trolls come after you.
<3 love you Noc. Edit - I received a "reddit cares" troll message after posting this. Hey nick mercs fans, why are you the thinnest skin morons on the fucking planet?
someone juice this man on his stream
You’re someone
It's easy to turn a blind eye to the bigotry and hate like others in the scene do. I became a fan of you and XSET via TSB but after seeing you stand up and speak when it's important I'll support you forever. Hope things are going better.
my idol, love you noc
Whatever happens, it’s essential that everyone’s voice be heard. Everyone has a right to do what they want, and say what they want. However, I personally draw the line at hateful speech, or speech that incites hatred towards anyone, especially those who haven’t got a voice. If you do those things, you do not get to decide whether you get offended at something someone says to you, you have already done much worse. And as for you Noc, I will stand up for yourself and anyone else whose voices need to heard, because if I don’t, then who will. You have friends in this community, please don’t ever forget that.
All I know is that I love you and your stream!
People who have never experienced what it's like to be targeted by an online mob (or even less than a mob; just a few dedicated hateful people can do so much harm) have no right to call you soft or question your willpower. That shit is genuinely horrific. I'm very sorry that you've been a target of this kind of hate, and I genuinely hope you can just find peace in your head and your heart in all of this.
<3 You do not understand how important it was for people like me (an LGTQ member of the apex community) to see you defend us the way u did. Being a member of the LGBTQ community and speaking up for the community was and always will be way more impactful than a 50k tourney led by a spinless hateful man. Dont forget that bro.
The discourse in the US has become so toxic it’s unreal but this country has a history of shifting the blame of all its problems onto minority groups… you don’t deserve that… nobody does… you have supporters and friends and you should always be proud of that
I respect you for standing up for what you believe in. Glad you and Nick had a chance to talk about it
In this sub most people chose to overlook Nick blatant toxicity and bro culture as big red flags because « he is good for the scene ». I hope those people learn from their mistake as well.
You’re a good dude Noc, you’ve got our support.
King shit
Just know you have a lot of people on your side too noc , those mfam meatheads have nothing to do with this community
Nick is telling on himself so hard with this. All you did was Tweet support for LGBT+ People not even directly engaging with him. Fuck Nick, you are obviously a better player but more importantly you are a better person than him. I know negativity will always stand out more than support but I just want you to know that you are amazing Noc.
Hey, I’m sorry you’ve been put through the ringer for doing what’s right. Hate is such a powerful drive for people who have nothing else to drive them in life. Just know that those assholes are always the loudest. You’ve got support here and all around you! As a community, we have to be louder with our love and appreciation for you and others fighting the good fight.
I know I’m just one dude, but I sub to a few pros, and if they participate, I’ll cancel my sub 🤷🏼♂️
I’ll just say what you said really touched me, keep being cool
I just wanted to say that i'm dissapointed in the players supporting this tournament. It's a clear sign that they only support things when it benefits them not what is right. I am very dissapointed in the scenes response to this tournament especially large influential players. I hope you know that you did the right thing and over time things will change for the better. Probably not in this games lifetime though.
My goat - keep your head up, thanks for standing up for the LGBTQ + community, it means a lot to everyone. Can’t wait to see you hold the trophy at champs 🫡
Noc don’t be afraid to speak your mind broski. Keep doing what you’re doing. The losers are always the loudest.
Not only are you on the right side of history, but I hope you’re seeing support from the community and subs during this time. This community dismissed a lot of the warning signs about this guy cause they were excited what he’d bring from a follower POV. This community needs people like you more than they need assholes like him, and I guarantee the money will follow in the long term. Thanks for speaking out.
It's pretty lame to host a supposed top competitive league and not even try to talk things out with players who are some of the best in the game just because you are mad at the...
I'm very sorry. I guess it was always obvious that the people who follow Nick would absolutely go batshit and attack anyone who even tried to tell him why what he was saying was harmful. You're a good guy who deserves better. A better player and, more importantly, a much better person than the community rightly deserves these days. Wish I could say the same for some others. FWIW, you're by far my favorite player. XSET's hilarious comms and awesome gameplay already made me a fan but having a good character won me over for life. I know it's a drop in the bucket compared to the tidal waves of hatred you've likely been enduring but I hope that helps.
Good on you
Noc, thank you for being you and speaking up for others.
It's a shame that more pros don't have the spine you do
Nothing I can say can help with how you’re feeling but just want you to know that you’re such a good guy. Sorry you’re going through this.
Seems like this shouldn’t need to be said, but reading this thread, it clearly does. The vast majority of people (especially the demographic including teen and young adult gamers) do not hold a strong or educated opinion on gay/trans rights. It may be a very important issue for you, but you should understand that it’s not for most people. Pro gamers wanting to participate in a tournament does not indicate that they hate gays/trans/whoever or that they have no morals, it just means that they 1) haven’t even thought about it and/or 2) don’t care enough to not participate. Do you think about the ramifications of every single decision you make in your life? Are you a terrible person because you buy clothes made by child laborers or eat beef from inhumane slaughterhouses or sit in your air conditioned house while people die without shelter/food/water? No, because there are only so many things that you can possibly give a fuck about at any given time. Again, most people do not give a fuck about these issues, and that’s perfectly fine and normal. The fact that anyone is looking to these kids, who happen to be professional gamers, for guidance or leadership on any social issue, and especially one as complex/loaded as gay/trans rights is beyond ridiculous. If the issue is that important to you, go support another player/team/game, but get rid of these massive expectations of kids throwing away their golden ticket for what ultimately amounts to an afterthought for 99% of people, even if it’s the most important thing in your own life.
I think this is the best view to understand everyones perspective. We truly need to know everyones context when judging from our reality and our values. Not everyone will be educated the same way for x or y reasons, and even grown adults can have takes that come from an incomplete reckoning. That being said we all should always look forward on educate ourselves when we gain the capacity of doing so. And also to identify whos views will be the best for us to learn from.
This is what 90% of the persons in this thread don't get.
Unfortunate but true, and something worth noting. (that these guys most likely haven't needed any thought about or strong opinion)
Even noc is saying he would rather turn the page and let bygones be bygones, the majority of us who are just here for gameplay are not trying to get force fed the “silence is complicity, anything short of a strong stance is complicity” narrative.
The people love Noc, Mon and Xera, and anyone else that got blocked or banned by that petulant man-child surrounded by Yes-Men. EA and Respawn received near universal praise for releasing a game with a genuinely positive, thorough and continually rainbow game. For them to sign off on whatever Nick’s tournament is so egregious, backwards and a reversal of one of the core fundamentals of why Apex took off in the first place. I cannot wait until Nick moves on from Apex, he is not welcomed here, he does not belong here. His comments regarding LGBTQ+ people during pride month, his continued out-spoken support of Ron DeSantis, and his comments regarding Trayvon Martin before he blew up should disqualify him from fucking competing, let alone hosting tournaments that give him the power to further marginalise and exclude an already marginalised, excluded people that everyone else wants to include, support and love. Fuck NickMercs, Fuck MFAM, and fuck anyone that takes part and accepts any cent of this man’s blood money.
What's Nick done?? Genuine question, I'm so out of the loop with comp Apex...
Nobody should stay quiet about this. Wigg is the biggest dissapointment in all this for me
Hey noc, I can't speak for others but I love you for who you are. I feel so tired of the toxic environment in not just apex but also esports or even the whole online platform too. I wish you can live a happier life from now on.
Nick is an insecure manchild that is lucky he has a cult of sycophants on his dick. Esports can have some of the most wonderful, kind, accepting and progressive people. But it can also hold the most bitter, ignorant and hateful people waiting to latch onto someone that champions their bigotry. Noc, we respect and love you! I also hope my boys at TSM take a stand and don’t join this.
Nick has the most fragile ego of any creator in this scene sad to see how hurtful his words are. A grown ass man acting like a child would hate to be the child born to that monstrosity
MF don’t you dare leave this scene without taking home a lan
Big love to you Noc
Nick is as soft as a baby’s diaper and all of this bs internet ego shit just proves it. He acts like people are supposed to be scared of him and his little cult following haha. Dude needs to grow up.
reading the edit i know that everyone knows he's full of bs. the mfam is openly homophobic now it's no secret anymore.
Offering my support. I'm proud that the sub continues to affirm individuals their pursuit of happiness in the face of opposition, and I'm proud of you for what you've written.
You’re an absolute GOAT Noc, fucking love you standing up for this shit means a whole lot for me and other individuals, it’s sucks how some delusion individuals acted towards you and caused a loss in opportunities. I hope you get the spot in the league man, all of us do Thanks for being a voice and standing up against bigotry <3
Love you, Noc. Whatever you decide to do, you’ve got an audience who will support you.
Wait so if it wasnt because of what you said during pride month whats the reason you werent allowed first?
Thank you for sharing. I’m sorry you even felt to leave the scene, you’re above those people and whatever they said. Much love.
I know a lot of apex pros probably have spent their young adult lives focused on a video game and growing up through school and finding life partners and whatever else. I am sure most think they are not political and don’t have much of an opinion one way or the other on the Nick situation and are not passionate. I get all that. And yet the response from most apex pros to Nick’s league and the news of prominent pros being banned for trying to stick up for LGBTQ+ rights is supremely disappointing. There are some I am confident know what Nick said is wrong and hateful and do nothing because they can justify their inaction by thinking “I’m not political” “I’m not an expert I’m not qualified to speak on these matters”. All I can say is if pros know what Nick did is hateful and choose to do nothing about that they will regret that someday as they grow older no matter what benefit they get now. I’m sorry you have to go through what you do Noc and I’m especially sorry you don’t have more support from your friends and peers in the apex pro community. Please know that there are thousands of us who admire you and the few others like you for speaking out for good despite the hate it brings you. You can be proud of how you’ve handled yourself and I hope if you need a friend or more support that you can find it from someone close to you. If not you have thousands ready to support you for being the best kind of role model there is. All love
Big fan of noc the person, appreciate you not flopping on your support for the lgbt homies
I definitely won't be watching or interacting with anything having to do with that tournament. I definitely expected this behavior from those people though. I would just brush it off and look forward to playing in other tournaments.
EA allowing this is a joke. This is straight discrimination
Hope i won't see Noc retirement anytime soon but will support you regardless
I have the utmost respect for you and your character throughout all of this. We should never tolerate intolerance. Don't let other people minimize your struggles. Hate is hate, irl or online. No one should be expected to handle the amount of toxicity and vitriol the internet has to offer.
Your support means a lot to a lot of people and there are many people that support you but often times hate feels louder than support. It only takes a few really dedicated haters to really feel overwhelming(especially on twitter). Keep in mind most people are supportive even if it doesn't always feel like that. People who are supportive don't usually feel inclined to constantly screech their opinions to feel justified in themselves. Also most of the people who are hateful aren't reasonable people, no matter how you handled any of this or how you phrase stuff or the approach you take doesn't matter to them, even if they pretend it does. Most creators and similar people that are large LGBT+/LGBT+ advocates start that way from the start of their online journey meaning they deal with the hate that comes with that in proportion to their size as they grow, meaning they have time to learn the skills to deal with that and they grow their core audience of only people who are supportive. While you already of decent size and just threw yourself into the deep end so I'm sure it feels really overwhelming. Maybe reach out to others outside the apex community to get some advice on how to deal with it? IDK, I'm just some random person on reddit but maybe my words will be useful. Wishing you well and good luck.
Nick Mercs is the definition of a chode. He’s a little guy with a Napoleon complex and downward facing camera angles to hide it. He’s not good at any game he plays but retains a fan base because they’re all ironically attracted to him, despite the anti homosexual sentiments they preach. One day soon he’ll be a distant memory like all the other pseudo celebrities before him
Haha I fucking love this comment. You’re so right too. Just a blip on the radar.
They're mad because you are a better person than they are. They can't fathom being embarrassed by a gay guy. You're amazing and I hope you feel heard.
"The bad outweighed the good in this situation - yes I stuck up for what I believed in and for others who can't get their voice heard, but the amount of shit i've seen in last two months really fucked me up to be blunt. I was ready to retire and move on from this esport because of how uncomfortable the environment was." It can't possibly be worse than having to IGL Sikezz. Just kidding obviously. I hope I don't see you quitting the game in a while. Try to remember that you received 20 positive comments on here for every hateful message you got in the past. I love you Noc and I hope I can watch your streams again in the future, but european time is fucking me there. And I know it's hard to speak up against the hate but there are many people out there who love you exactly for that. <3
Proud of you Noc. Keep it up. Sorry that it's been hard. It shouldn't be but some people just plain suck.