FIFA pro Tassal “Tass” Rushan claimed that he didn’t understand the meaning behind a homophobic slur he used on a video. He was banned from competitive play also said that he didn’t know it was a bad word because he was raised in London.
Eurogamer reported the FIFA European Champion was caught using the homophobic slur “fag” during a YouTube video when referring to FIFA Ultimate Team Card.
Rushan kept pulling Uruguayan midfielder Matias Vecino from Player Picks packs and used the slur in frustration saying “And just like that we’re seeing this fucking fag again.”
A member of the Faze Clan, Rushan was suspended for his violation once it was picked up by EA Sports. EA’s code of conduct for the FIFA 19 global series expressly prohibits “harassing, threatening, bullying, engaging in hate speech, repeatedly sending unwanted messages, or making personal attacks or statements about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc.”
The FIFA pro has since released another YouTube video in which he says his upbringing caused him to be blind to the meaning behind the slur.
“Due to where I’ve been brought up, the connotation of that word from my perspective until now, it was just another word for prick or idiot. Not even one per cent of me knew it had any type of derogatory connotation towards homosexuality at all,” says Rushan. “First of all, if I knew it did, there is no way I’m saying anything like that. I would never say anything like that, trust me.”
He then tried to blame it on his British upbringing. While some words have different meanings around the world, the internet helps erase those borders, which would generally make taboo words like that even more taboo. Also some slurs are generally pretty ubiquitous and the one he used is one of them that stretches to multiple countries. However, he asked the British crowd if that word was a slur to other people from London.
“I think some of you guys could back me up on this. Who’s from London? Did you know that word had that connotation?” he asked.
Rushan then went on to apologize to EA and his team. He also tweeted the same sentiments from his personal Twitter account.
“Now that I’ve found out I’ll never ever say something like that again. I want to apologize to EA. I want to apologize to Faze. I’ve let EA down, I’ve let Faze down. I’ve let myself down. It’s not a great situation for me to be in,” he said.
I am sorry to anyone I offended with what I said, I hold myself to a higher standard & I failed to live by FaZe & EA’s code of conduct. It was a wake up call that I need to be more careful with what I say, I’ll use it as a learning curve moving ahead, I’ll be back competing soon.
— Tass (@FaZeTass) November 5, 2018
It will be up to EA whether or not Rushan’s apology is enough to let the player be reinstated.
