League of Legends pro Bwipo has been suspended by FlyQuest following sexist remarks on stream. The incident sparked industry-wide debate on inclusivity, with FlyQuest donating his prize money to women in gaming and Bwipo issuing an apology.
League of Legends pro Bwipo has been suspended by FlyQuest following sexist remarks made on his personal stream. The 26-year-old later apologized, admitting his comments were “ignorant and disrespectful,” but not before facing swift backlash.
This marks the most significant controversy in Bwipo’s career, sparking debate across the esports industry.
What did Bwipo actually say?
On his own stream, Bwipo began by noting that women face unique challenges in esports due to a lack of support around health and anatomy.
"Women's anatomy and their monthly cycles are extremely different from males. and there is no proper support system for women to go through what they're going through."
However, Bwipo's take quickly shifted into a sweeping and controversial opinion that women shouldn’t compete during menstruation, based largely on anecdotal behavior he observed. Bwipo framed this as a matter of fairness and competitive viability, but his comments were widely criticized as sexist and ill-informed.
"Even men tilt out of their f**king minds when they play League of Legends. When a woman is on the wrong part of the month and playing competitively. There's a time of the month where you should not be f**king playing competitive games as a woman in my opinion."
Citing personal experience, Bwipo added that women should avoid “grinding” during this time, instead focusing on activities like VOD reviews or playing on a separate account.
"It was really obvious when she was just getting super irritated at every little thing. It's not trying to be sexist or anything, it's just the way it was.
I think understanding, this is not a good time right now to actually get up and grind, this is a time for me to relax and do a bit more vod reviewing, a bit more looking at the game. Perhaps have a different account entirely, when they're going through that [their period]."
Bwipo concluded by framing his suggestions as ways to create a "fair playing field", but not before mentioning competition schedules not be adjusted around menstrual cycles.
"Competition isn't going to schedule around your period or schedule around weeks in the month. You don't have much room to be competitive basically, I don't think its not possible, I just think it's much harder."
FlyQuest suspension from League of Legends LTA playoffs
FlyQuest were quick to issue a statement regarding Bwipo's comments, which they said were against FlyQuest's core values of elevating diversity and inclusion.
As a result, Bwipo has been suspended for the team's next LTA playoffs match and his event prize money will be donated to "causes that support women in gaming". FlyQuest has yet to specify which causes these would be.
Recently, Bwipo made sexist comments that are antithetical to FlyQuest’s core values. Every day, we try to make the gaming space better and that includes helping anyone with a passion for competition reach the highest possible levels of play.
That’s why we’re so proud of the RED program and our work to elevate diverse and underserved communities across gaming.
Comments that might discourage even one young woman from pursuing her dream of becoming a pro player harm the future of esports, and we take that very seriously.
While our first impulse is to educate when clearly ignorant comments like this are made, accountability is also a core value of our organization.
As a result, we will be suspending Bwipo from play for the next series in the LTA playoffs and donating his event prize money to causes that support women in gaming.
FlyQuest RED mentioned in the statement, is FlyQuest's women-led esports VALORANT team, which aims to support and showcase women in gaming.
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Bwipo apologizes for "ignorant and disrespectful" comments
League of Legends professional player Bwipo issued an apology four hours after FlyQuest announced his suspension from playing in the LTA playoffs.
"I know I f**ked up. My comments were ignorant and disrespectful to women, including those close to me," said Bwipo in an apology post on X. "I'm sorry to those I hurt. I regret using my platform to fuel vitriol and sexism instead of support, and I'll be taking steps to reflect, listen, and do better."
League of Legends community reaction to Bwipo's remarks
Bwipo's comments about women in esports has triggered a massive response from community figures both within League of Legends and beyond.
League of Legends and esports host Sjokz discussed the incident on TikTok, stating it fueled a notion in the world at large that women are too emotional for certain jobs or activities compared to men.
“That’s such a crazy take because what do you think women do?" said Sjokz. "Women are on their period bleeding buckets, having extreme pains, they’re extremely tired and lethargic, but they are out there breaking Olympic records, they’re out there putting in 24-hour shifts as a nurse.”
"It's quite ignorant to say this, and to frame this as such because that is dangerous rhetoric. You need to see the bigger picture and the harm that rhetoric like this does do to women."
Sjokz fellow League of Legends talent Azael echoed these concerns:
"Women being unable to play games competitive due to their periods is as dumb and dangerous of a take as I've seen in a while.
In my nearly 20 years in esports I've met some of the most calm and logical women, and some of the most irrational and emotional men. [...]
We need to stop these dangerous generalizations against a group of people that's already struggling to get opportunities in a space that's dominated by men.
"These types of takes just help to further reinforce peoples biases against women & only serve to reduce the opportunities they receive as a result. Judge people by their individual character and merit and stop the stereotyping."
Elsewhere premier VALORANT caster Jessica "JESSGOAT" Bolden hoped FlyQuest could use the opportunity to have Bwipo promote FlyQuest RED during his suspension.
"It would be super cool if he also took some time to learn about the women's teams in your organisation and even promote some of their games for his fans to watch during his suspension for example!
A bad moment can lead to some good things and I am rooting for his redemption."
The incident has fueled a wider discussion on inclusivity in esports which is still ongoing. The fallout may shape how FlyQuest, Riot Games, and the wider esports scene handle inclusivity going forward.
