Game publisher Konami has cut ties with Barcelona soccer star Antoine Griezmann over alleged racist remarks made in 2019. The 30-year old footballer was recently made an ambassador for Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! series of card and video games, serving to advertise the card game while also designing a specialized new Yu-Gi-Oh! card bearing his likeness. The wildly popular manga series began in 1996 before spinning off into trading card game, anime, and video game adaptations.
Popular celebrities, social media influencers, and internet personalities are often hired by used large companies to reach out to their fan communities. These ambassadors are able to give a recognizable face to a franchise or brand while also helping to spread news and updates. Nintendo also utilizes ambassadors to drum up excitement about upcoming events, such as Nintendo Direct news streams. In June 2021 a particularly noteworthy Nintendo Direct was preceded by a number of Nintendo ambassadors receiving “Extreme Excitement” bundles consisting of goodies such as a customized hoodie.
Reporting by VGC reveals that Konami has cut ties with Yu-Gi-Oh! ambassador Antoine Griezmann due to a leaked video that surfaced recently. The video from 2019 depicts the French football player making racist comments about Asian staff at a hotel. ESPN first shared that Griezmann and teammate Ousmane Dembele recently apologized for the racist behavior displayed in the video. However, Konami has now cut all ties with Griezmann, canceling his Yu-Gi-Oh! ambassadorship alongside a public statement reading, “Konami Digital Entertainment believes, as is the philosophy of sports, that discrimination of any kind is unacceptable.” In a statement posted on Twitter, Antoine Griezmann has denied accusations of racism, translated as:
“I have always been committed against any form of discrimination. For the past few days, some people have wanted to pass me off as the man I am not. I firmly refute the accusations made against me and I am sorry if I offended my Japanese friends.”
Along with the sporting world, racism has long plagued gaming, and it’s been brought even further into spotlight with the growth of online interaction between players of multiplayer titles. Call of Duty publisher Activision, the publisher of the highly popular first-person shooter series Call of Duty, has recently taken strides to improve the health of its online community. The publisher has reportedly banned over 350,000 Call of Duty accounts for racist or toxic behavior within the game, helping to remove a harmful element from the gaming industry as a whole.
Konami’s termination of the football star’s Yu-Gi-Oh! ambassador position is quite appropriate, as Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Debele’s alleged racist remarks towards Asian hotel staff are inexcusable and reportedly were made within just the last two years. While Griezmann denies any wrongdoing, video evidence of the event appears to be enough proof for Konami to distance itself from the sports figure.
Source: Video Games Chronicle, ESPN, Antoine Griezmann/Twitter
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