North American esports organisation FlyQuest has suspended top laner Gabriël ‘Bwipo’ Rau from the next series of the LTA playoffs after comments he made regarding women’s ability to compete professionally.
The organisation will also be donating Bwipo’s event prize money to causes supporting women in gaming. The suspension comes after the player suggested that women should avoid competitive gaming during certain times of the month, citing menstrual cycles as a competitive disadvantage.
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), FlyQuest said: “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.”
The organisation continued: “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.”
During a recent stream, Bwipo stated that women face biological disadvantages in competitive gaming, specifically mentioning menstrual cycles.
“There is a time in the month where you should not be fucking playing competitive games as a woman, in my opinion,” he said during the broadcast.
The player went on to suggest that women should focus on activities like VOD reviewing during these periods rather than competing, adding that ‘competition isn’t going to schedule around your period.’
Community Reaction to Bwipo
The comments sparked immediate criticism from across the esports community. Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings-Bentley, caster and analyst, condemned the remarks on X, stating: “Women being unable to play games competitively due to their periods is as dumb and dangerous of a take as I’ve seen in a while.”
Azael pointed to his experience working with professional player Rumay ‘Hafu’ Wang, noting that in his nearly 20 years in esports, he has ‘met some of the most calm and logical women, and some of the most irrational and emotional men.’
Kelsey Moser, a longtime esports insider, revealed this was not the first time she had heard such opinions from Bwipo, calling it ‘legendary foot-in-mouth-ery’ given the current climate. Jonas ‘Memento’ Elmarghichi, assistant coach for G2 Esports, also weighed in, posting that having coached women’s teams last year with NORD Esports, he found the take ‘extremely sexist and just blatantly false.’
“If anything is holding back the female scene it is these kind of assumptions. Educate yourself,” Memento added.
Several other industry figures, including broadcasters Sjokz and Ovilee May, expressed their disappointment with the comments on social media.
FlyQuest’s RED
The suspension is also notable given FlyQuest’s commitment to diversity through its RED program, which focuses on elevating diverse and underserved communities across gaming.
“That’s why we’re so proud of the RED program and our work to elevate diverse and underserved communities across gaming,” the organisation stated, emphasising that accountability remains a core value alongside education.
FlyQuest acknowledged that while its ‘first impulse is to educate when clearly ignorant comments like this are made,’ it ultimately decided suspension was necessary.
The organisation has not specified which causes will receive Bwipo’s donated prize money, though they confirmed it would support women in gaming initiatives. Bwipo has yet to respond publicly to the suspension at the time of this article’s publication. The next LTA playoffs series, from which he will be absent, is scheduled for September 20th against Vivo Keyd Stars.
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