Overwatch League cracking down on "Pepe" memes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overwatch League cracking down on "Pepe" memes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg?resize=768,512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nicole Carpenter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nicole Carpenter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nicole Carpenter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59\"},\"headline\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"},\"wordCount\":435,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Overwatch League\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Overwatch\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\",\"name\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on \\\"Pepe\\\" memes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"Photo by Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59\",\"name\":\"Nicole Carpenter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8dda26510ee02bcf0e7853a5742c7950\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"Nicole Carpenter\"},\"description\":\"Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/nicole-carpenter\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","og_description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg?resize=768,512","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nicole Carpenter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DotEsports","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nicole Carpenter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"},"author":{"name":"Nicole Carpenter","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59"},"headline":"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes","datePublished":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"},"wordCount":435,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","keywords":["Overwatch League"],"articleSection":["Overwatch"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","name":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"Photo by Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59","name":"Nicole Carpenter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8dda26510ee02bcf0e7853a5742c7950","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"Nicole Carpenter"},"description":"Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/nicole-carpenter"}]}},"raw_content":"There's a noticeable lack of frog memes from Overwatch League's professional players. The Overwatch League is reaching out to participating organizations to dissuade use of the \"Pepe\" meme, a league spokesperson confirmed to Dot Esports. \"The Overwatch League discourages the use of symbols and imagery which are associated with or used by hate groups, including Pepe the Frog,\" an Overwatch League spokesperson told Dot Esports. \"At Blizzard Arena, it's our policy that fans comply with this policy. We likewise ask the same of Overwatch League teams and players on their social-media accounts.\" San Francisco Shock player Jay \"sinatraa\" Won posted a Pepe image to Twitter on March 18 and later deleted it, according to his follow up tweet. Other Overwatch League players, including New York Excelsior DPS Kim \"Pine\" Do-hyeon, followed suit and deleted Pepe memes from their Twitter accounts. It's unlikely that the Overwatch League players intended to use the Pepe meme in an offensive way, but it's larger connotations\u2014and problematic appropriation\u2014are important to consider. Originally a cartoon character created by artist Matt Furie, Pepe was appropriated by the alt-right in 2015. The Anti-Defamation League, a United States\u2013based civil rights group, added Pepe to its database of hate symbols in 2016, with the caveat that not all uses of the meme are used for hate. The Overwatch League's Code of Conduct is not public, though a summary of the information was released in late February. The rules state that players and staff should \"not engage in any activity or practice which brings him or her into public disrepute or scandal\" and should \"not engage in any form of harassment or discrimination.\" Overwatch League staff have \"broad discretion\" over what counts as a violation. Earlier in March, a former Overwatch League player and an Overwatch League coach were punished for their online activities. Former Dallas Fuel player F\u00e9lix \"xQc\" Lengyel was fined and suspended for a few infractions, one of which was using the \"TriHard\" emote in a \"racially disparaging manner\" on the Overwatch League Twitch stream. XQc was later let go from the Dallas Fuel. Houston Outlaws coach Kim \"TaiRong\" Tae-yeong was given a warning for posting a meme that made light of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kim apologized on Twitter and later donated $1,000 to the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. A Pepe poster was confiscated at the Overwatch League debut on Jan. 10, according to Kotaku. Audience members were reportedly using the poster to cheer on the Dallas Fuel before a staff member and security guard removed the sign.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/909"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Overwatch League cracking down on "Pepe" memes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Overwatch League cracking down on "Pepe" memes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dot Esports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg?resize=768,512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nicole Carpenter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DotEsports\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nicole Carpenter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nicole Carpenter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59\"},\"headline\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"},\"wordCount\":435,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Overwatch League\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Overwatch\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\",\"name\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on \\\"Pepe\\\" memes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"Photo by Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Dot Esports\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Dot Esports\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59\",\"name\":\"Nicole Carpenter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8dda26510ee02bcf0e7853a5742c7950\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96\",\"caption\":\"Nicole Carpenter\"},\"description\":\"Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/nicole-carpenter\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","og_description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","og_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","og_site_name":"Dot Esports","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","article_published_time":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg?resize=768,512","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nicole Carpenter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@DotEsports","twitter_site":"@DotEsports","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nicole Carpenter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"},"author":{"name":"Nicole Carpenter","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59"},"headline":"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes","datePublished":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"},"wordCount":435,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","keywords":["Overwatch League"],"articleSection":["Overwatch"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","name":"Overwatch League cracking down on \"Pepe\" memes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-20T14:06:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-13T02:45:34+00:00","description":"An Overwatch League spokesperson confirmed that Blizzard is actively discouraging use of the meme.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"caption":"Photo by Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","name":"Dot Esports","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#organization","name":"Dot Esports","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/05103313\/logo-dot_esports-mark-black.png","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"Dot Esports"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DOTesports\/","https:\/\/x.com\/DotEsports","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dotesports\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCckaIn-3KqLYfppkj4DeTAw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b7de2775b60a49c4736ae3744b6dad59","name":"Nicole Carpenter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/8dda26510ee02bcf0e7853a5742c7950","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1d490de021a98c4e1aa409a5b67164e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g&resize=96%2C96","caption":"Nicole Carpenter"},"description":"Nicole Carpenter is a reporter for Dot Esports. She lives in Massachusetts with her cat, Puppy, and dog, Major. She's a Zenyatta main who'd rather be playing D.Va.","url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/author\/nicole-carpenter"}]}},"raw_content":"There's a noticeable lack of frog memes from Overwatch League's professional players. The Overwatch League is reaching out to participating organizations to dissuade use of the \"Pepe\" meme, a league spokesperson confirmed to Dot Esports. \"The Overwatch League discourages the use of symbols and imagery which are associated with or used by hate groups, including Pepe the Frog,\" an Overwatch League spokesperson told Dot Esports. \"At Blizzard Arena, it's our policy that fans comply with this policy. We likewise ask the same of Overwatch League teams and players on their social-media accounts.\" San Francisco Shock player Jay \"sinatraa\" Won posted a Pepe image to Twitter on March 18 and later deleted it, according to his follow up tweet. Other Overwatch League players, including New York Excelsior DPS Kim \"Pine\" Do-hyeon, followed suit and deleted Pepe memes from their Twitter accounts. It's unlikely that the Overwatch League players intended to use the Pepe meme in an offensive way, but it's larger connotations\u2014and problematic appropriation\u2014are important to consider. Originally a cartoon character created by artist Matt Furie, Pepe was appropriated by the alt-right in 2015. The Anti-Defamation League, a United States\u2013based civil rights group, added Pepe to its database of hate symbols in 2016, with the caveat that not all uses of the meme are used for hate. The Overwatch League's Code of Conduct is not public, though a summary of the information was released in late February. The rules state that players and staff should \"not engage in any activity or practice which brings him or her into public disrepute or scandal\" and should \"not engage in any form of harassment or discrimination.\" Overwatch League staff have \"broad discretion\" over what counts as a violation. Earlier in March, a former Overwatch League player and an Overwatch League coach were punished for their online activities. Former Dallas Fuel player F\u00e9lix \"xQc\" Lengyel was fined and suspended for a few infractions, one of which was using the \"TriHard\" emote in a \"racially disparaging manner\" on the Overwatch League Twitch stream. XQc was later let go from the Dallas Fuel. Houston Outlaws coach Kim \"TaiRong\" Tae-yeong was given a warning for posting a meme that made light of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kim apologized on Twitter and later donated $1,000 to the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. A Pepe poster was confiscated at the Overwatch League debut on Jan. 10, according to Kotaku. Audience members were reportedly using the poster to cheer on the Dallas Fuel before a staff member and security guard removed the sign.","apple_news_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/11111047\/ac0bd1aa-aadf-4614-ba6d-06eb66294268.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/909"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"invoiceable_action","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/invoiceable_action?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"internal-label","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-label?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Rokurou

{"id":4904,"date":"2018-03-20T08:06:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T14:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.dotesports.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/20\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes\/"},"modified":"2018-08-13T02:45:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-13T02:45:34","slug":"overwatch-league-pepe-memes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/overwatch\/news\/overwatch-league-pepe-memes-22011","title":{"rendered":"Overwatch League cracking down on “Pepe” memes"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s a noticeable lack of frog memes from Overwatch <\/em>League’s professional players.<\/p>

The Overwatch<\/em> League is reaching out to participating organizations to dissuade use of the “Pepe” meme, a league spokesperson confirmed to Dot Esports.<\/p>

“The Overwatch<\/em> League discourages the use of symbols and imagery which are associated with or used by hate groups, including Pepe the Frog,” an Overwatch<\/em> League spokesperson told Dot Esports. “At Blizzard Arena, it’s our policy that fans comply with this policy. We likewise ask the same of Overwatch<\/em> League teams and players on their social-media accounts.”<\/p>

San Francisco Shock player Jay “sinatraa” Won posted a Pepe image to Twitter on March 18 and later deleted it, according<\/a> to his follow up tweet. Other Overwatch<\/em> League players, including<\/a> New York Excelsior DPS Kim “Pine” Do-hyeon, followed suit and deleted Pepe memes from their Twitter accounts. It’s unlikely that the Overwatch<\/em> League players intended to use the Pepe meme in an offensive way, but it’s larger connotations\u2014and problematic appropriation\u2014are important to consider.<\/p>

Originally a cartoon character created by artist Matt Furie, Pepe was appropriated by the alt-right in 2015. The Anti-Defamation League, a United States\u2013based civil rights group, added Pepe to its database of hate symbols in 2016, with the caveat that not all uses of the meme are used for hate.<\/p>

The Overwatch<\/em> League’s Code of Conduct is not public, though a summary of the information was released<\/a> in late February. The rules state that players and staff should “not engage in any activity or practice which brings him or her into public disrepute or scandal” and should “not engage in any form of harassment or discrimination.” Overwatch<\/em> League staff have “broad discretion” over what counts as a violation.<\/p>

Earlier in March, a former Overwatch<\/em> League player and an Overwatch<\/em> League coach were punished<\/a> for their online activities. Former Dallas Fuel player F\u00e9lix “xQc” Lengyel was fined and suspended for a few infractions, one of which was using the “TriHard” emote in a “racially disparaging manner” on the Overwatch<\/em> League Twitch stream. XQc was later let go<\/a> from the Dallas Fuel.<\/p> <\/p>

Houston Outlaws coach Kim “TaiRong” Tae-yeong was given a warning for posting a meme that made light of the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kim apologized on Twitter and later donated $1,000 to the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation.<\/p> <\/p>

A Pepe poster was confiscated at the Overwatch<\/em> League debut on Jan. 10, according to Kotaku<\/a>. Audience members were reportedly using the poster to cheer on the Dallas Fuel before a staff member and security guard removed the sign.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"