An esports pro has been lambasted after a video surfaced online in which an individual, who is allegedly Fortnite Champion Series Grand Final contender Sin, shows off a fully stocked weapons closet and states, in the year 2022, that the stockpile of firearms is âjust in case thereâs ever a zombie apocalypse or a n*gger outbreak.â Sigh, I really do hate this world we live in sometimes.
Sin, or Sin3278, isnât new to the gameâs professional circuit. According to the player statistic tracker database Fortnite Tracker, Sin has been competing in various tournaments since at least July 2019. He made his first Fortnite Champion Series (or FNCS) appearance in October 2020, which is a pretty big deal. The FNCS is Fortniteâs most high-profile esports competition. I mean, itâs even hosted by developer Epic Games. Getting on that stage is essentially Fortnite stardom. He didnât place that high in his initial outing but continued competing in the FNCS throughout the years. He slowly climbed the ranks, and on May 22, he and his Duos teammate Acro placed second in a semi-final competition, securing them a spot in this weekendâs Grand Finals. You can watch the tournamentâs conclusion on Fortniteâs official YouTube channel
That same day, fellow Fortnite pro and FNCS North America East competitor Nexy shared a video from Sin in which Sin, standing inside what appeared to be a very white closet, supposedly flaunted his âarmoryâ of lethal weapons. There are several shotguns, pistols, rifles, blades, and loads and loads of ammo. All of this, Sin said in the short clip, was âjust in case thereâs ever a zombie apocalypse or a n*gger outbreak.â As if such a thing would be a reason to be this strapped.
crazy how @Sin3278 kid is allowed to play in grands after tweeting this pic.twitter.com/2E99lLGD1J
â nexy (@Nexybtw) May 23, 2022
âCrazy how [this] Sin3278 kid is allowed to play in grands after tweeting this,â Nexy said alongside the 13-second video. It spread quickly, catching the attention of esports watchdog Jake Lucky, who also tweeted his disbelief. Lucky subsequently shared a screenshot in which Sin doubled down on the video, confirming itâs him and saying he ânever threatened anyone or said [heâs] gonna do anything.â There are other receipts of Sinâs tweets floating around as well, where he further defended the video and admitted to being âracist and proud.â
Kotaku has reached out to Epic Games and Nexy for comment.
Acro, Sinâs teammate, has distanced himself from Sinâs statements. He tweeted that he does not âagree withâ anything Sin has done or said. However, it also appears that Acro has hidden replies that show him previously reacting to Sinâs video in a more lighthearted manner, complete with the crying laughing emoji
Kotaku has reached out to Acro and Sin for comment.
Sinâs statements have pissed off the competitive Fortnite scene. Some players, such as Jonathan âyung calculatorâ Weber, have tweeted that this video needs more attention from something like the FBI. Pro Alexander âAvâ Vanderveen said the developer âhad information about [Sin] for a weekâ without any enforcement happening yet. And some Black gamers, such as Apex Legends streamer Ninjayla and University of Maryland Director of Esports Sergio Brack expressed how this affects Black folks. Said Brack, âWe donât just make this stuff up. Black people are not valued, protected, or respected in this space and Iâm reminded of that on a regular basisâŠâ Lemme tell you, Brack ainât wrong here.
As of yet, Epic Games has not publicly addressed the matter, so itâs unclear whether the video will impact Sinâs involvement in FNCS and how thatâll all play out. All this comes not long after Buffalo, New York was rattled by a hate-fueled massacre in which an 18-year-old white male shot up a local grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood and streamed the murders on Twitch. Government agencies like the DOJ and politicians including Attorney General Letitia James are investigating both the shooting and the streaming platform
