Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Pro Gamer Fired After Saying Men Under 5 ft 7 in 'Don't Have Human Rights'

Pro Gamer Fired After Saying Men Under 5 ft 7 in 'Don't Have Human Rights'

The Tekken esports pro made the peculiar remarks during an Cyclops Athlete Gaming online stream

Professional Tekken player Tanukana has been booted from Osaka-based esports team Cyclops Athlete Gaming for remarks she made about men’s heights during a livestream, following a recent spate of far more incendiary remarks.

Cyclops Athlete Gaming competes in first-person shooters like PUBG, Call of Duty, and Rainbow Six Siege as well as fighting games like Tekken. She has been featured in the mainstream Japanese press, including this clip from newspaper Kobe Shimbun. She was, as Kotaku’s Ian Walker previously wrote, a rising star.

In a February 15 stream, Tanukana said, “Men who are under 170 cm (5 ft 6.9 in) don’t have human rights.” She added they should look into getting bone-lengthening surgery. (According to Healthline, the average height for men in Japan is 170.8 cm or 5 ft 7.2 in.) As of writing, Kotaku wasn’t able to confirm the content of the entire stream. However, in this clip, Tanukana also said people with A-cup sized breasts also didn’t have human rights. She certainly has seems to have a record of saying terrible things. Blog My Game News Flash has dug up earlier comments Tanukana made in a livestream in 2020, in which she apparently told someone during a stream to “kill themselves” and that they were “the trashiest trash of society.”

While in the west some might interpret her remarks as a poor meme or a joke, in Japan it set off a firestorm online with people calling it discriminatory. Obviously you can read it literally as a remark against a group of people, but power dynamics make it a bit more complicated than saying something truly discriminatory about a protected or vulnerable class.

In a now-deleted tweet, which can be seen here, Tanukana wrote, “It was pointed out to my that my stream contained hate speech.” She added that this was not her intention and that she poorly expressed her love of tall people. She did apologize, but it was hardly the kind of formal apology that’s become expected in Japan. This made people online even more upset.

In Japanese, the word for human rights is jinken (人権). But in gaming parlance, jinken refers to an item or character that all players need to have. On Twitter, a debate has ensued over whether the slang led to Tanukana’s remark. However, the slang use of the term “human rights” isn’t widely known in Japan, and numerous mainstream outlets led with Tanukana’s height comment.

When J-Cast News covered the story on Yahoo! News, the popular news site titled its article, “Men Under 170 cm Don’t Have Human Rights’ Popular Woman Pro Gamer Says ‘Sorry’ For Abusive Language.” (Note that J-Cast provided a transcript from the stream, and only the height comment is mentioned.) Japan’s most popular game sites like My Game News Flash picked up the story, also leading with her comment on men’s height—as would the coverage that followed from mainstream sites like Nikkan Gendai, Tokyo Sports, Daily Sports, Nico Nico, and more.

Cyclops also issued an apology, writing, “We’ve confirmed that on February 15, Tanukana, who is a member of Cyclops Athlete Gaming, made an improper remark on a stream. Regarding this matter, we would like to offer a deep apology to the fans, sponsors, and everyone else who supports us.”

And Tanukana apologized once again with a more formal tweet that addressed fans and the team’s sponsor, Red Bull. “I have deep remorse for this statement, which is unbecoming of a pro esports athlete and a member of society,” wrote Tanukana.

What’s more, all this happened against a backdrop in which “pro gamer” has been officially defined in Japan, and where there are licenses to game professionally. According to the Japan Esports Union, one of the main points that defines a pro gamer is “self-awareness of being a professional.” This stipulation seems to have been added so that esports pros are taken seriously in Japan.

Tanukana’s Cyclops page had a laundry list of sponsors that included Alienware and Red Bull. In the wake of the controversy, all the sponsors were scrubbed from her page. Sponsors don’t want controversy, even if things seem blown out of proportion. Teams need sponsors. It appears that something—or someone—had to give, and that’s exactly what happened. Cyclops later announced it had terminated Tanukana’s contract.

Since this article was originally published, Tanukana’s firing has truly gone nationwide. ANN News, one of the country’s biggest news stations, broadcasted the incident, reporting that Tanukana got fired after making a comment about men under 170 cm not having human rights.


While clearly Tanukana’s height comments were far from the most unpleasant remarks she’s made on a stream, they ended up arguably insulting, from the apparent perspective of the sponsors, half of the men in a country where the average height is 170.8 cm.

It has been alleged that she made far worse comments during this stream, but Kotaku has been unable to verify these remarks as the stream has been deleted, and Japanese news sites have only reported on the height remarks.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
×