Porn sponsors banned again in Esports tournament

Despite efforts by some of the more well known tube pornography websites to legitimise themselves as mainstream companies, Esports organisations are doing their best to push back on that narrative. Following a ban of Youporn's pro team from the ESL competition, the same has happened with Capcom's Pro Tour.

Although the ESL ban for the porn-site-sponsored Team YP was specific to that one gaming group, in the case of Capcom's Street Fighter V championship, it's banned any team or player which has garnered sponsorship from any “adult content,” company.

We will continue to tread through the trenches and pursue equal opportunities for all that support the true spirit of Esports.

— Team YP (@TeamYPOfficial) May 21, 2016

Team YP has tweeted out about its disappointment that its players will be impacted by the decision, making it hard for them to compete in a meaningful fashion. However it did pledge to continue fighting to have its players considered and its brand recognised within Esports proper.

That might be a fight worth having too, as support for the team has been surprisingly strong. Indeed it's drawn so much backing from the Esports community, that Capcom officials have pledged to re-look at the issue, to give it further consideration.

We understand everyone’’s concern around the sponsorship rule in the #CPT2016 ruleset. We will review and have an update soon.

— Capcom Fighters (@CapcomFighters) May 21, 2016

That's not a turnaround, but it's certainly better than Team YP was looking at the start of this weekend just gone.

As much as these Esports organisations might not be fans of porn sponsors though, it isn't the only type of product and/or company that isn't allowed to be a part of the proceedings. Alcohol and tobacco (including e-cigarette) firms are also banned from sponsoring anyone.

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KitGuru Says: Do you think there should be certain sponsors that aren't allowed to give teams additional funds in exchange for a logo or endorsement on their uniforms?

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