Jeremy Hambly, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is one of the biggest fans and promoters of Magic: The Gathering. Well, he used to be. He has now become the number-one enemy of the rulemakers of this complex card strategy game, involving fantastic beasts and characters that was launched in 1993 by an American Dungeons & Dragons fan called Richard Garfield. and Wizards of the Coast (which is now a part of Hasbro). Magic: The Gathering boasts around 20 million players.
How did Mr. Hambly go from being one of their biggest proponents to persona non-grata you ask?
The story of what’s being dubbed by some as #Magicgate began when Unsleeved Media‘s Jeremy Hambly criticized an attractive cosplayer for her antics, most notably feigning outrage of Twitter posts by men attracted her, to raise funds on the internet.
Jon Del Arozz writes for Dangerous:
Hambly made a YouTube video accusing the cosplayer of “crying for Patreon dollars” and several tweets jabbing her cosplay. One mocked her looks with “This guy [sic] does a pretty good job cosplaying this card.” Another simply said, “Cosplay is dumb. Playing dress up is not *work* [sic].” He went on to tell a very poignant truth, “if she were a man, she would not have gained hundreds of Patreon supporters overnight.”
He not only criticized a woman on Twitter, which as DANGEROUS readers know is an executable crime from MILO’s personal experience, but he also pointed out the flaws of feminism, a sacred cow of the SJW left. Hambly committed further thought crimes by speaking out against Antifa and the LGBT lynch mobs on his YouTube channel.
“I publically supported both Trump and MILO,” Hambly told me. “The rate of hate greatly increased at that time.” The harassment began in earnest at this point, not of the cosplayer, but toward Hambly.
But why are these companies, with a vast majority of male customer base, so quick to rally for feminism? “Many hate themselves,” he said. “One of my loudest critics got married, had two kids, cheated on his first wife, had two kids, cheated on her with his assistant, left them both. [They] have worse skeletons in their closets.”
Most of Hambly’s comments were made about the topic of cosplay itself more than targeted at a specific individual. The SJWs often like to use cosplay as a battleground, and feign outrage at people who notice these women who often attempt to gain attention by being scantily clad. In bizarre feminist logic, men are supposed to celebrate these women’s bodies, but at the same time are not allowed to notice their beauty.
The Internet and the media jumped on Hambly. People flagged his YouTube channel, and he received complaints on Patreon to try to take down his own business’s revenue. He was attacked on all fronts. But Hambly wanted to fight back. He spoke out about what was happening, and urged what we all know: to never apologize to SJWs while under attack from them.
As a YouTube creator, Hambly works on his own. He makes his own videos, has no back up, no official endorsements, only the support of his audience. He has more than 140,000 subscribers to his channel dedicated to Magic: The Gathering, and makes a living covering their events.
As the targeted destruction of Hambly escalated because of a few mean tweets, the cosplayer urged other people on the Internet to swarm Hasbro Customer Service and complain about him. A social media war escalated between the cosplayer and Hambly, but because Hambly was a man, and the cosplayer was a woman, Hasbro appeared to take sides and stepped in.
The cosplayer’s social pressure seemed to work. Hasbro banned Hambly from Magic: The Gathering for life, without appeal. The evidence they provided was some of the tweets mentioned above, along with unrelated tweets of him posting memes of Pepe the Frog, and some political content. They never accused him of doing anything wrong at their events, and no one had any complaints about him in person, but it took personally following him to his social media accounts for a giant corporation to deem an individual unfit to play their game. Hambly says he was stalked by both Hasbro representatives and an angry horde of white knights defending this cosplayer’s “virtue” in what appeared to be a personal dispute between two people.
With input from players, retailers, tournament organizers, fans, and staff, Wizards President Chris Cocks introduces us to the Commitment to Each Other, representing the kind of community we all want to be. Read more: https://t.co/3iBovI0rx8
— Magic: The Gathering (@wizards_magic) December 19, 2017
Here’s what the MTG Community responded with:
So if everyone at WOTC feels this way why don’t you pick up the phone and have a talk with @UnsleevedMedia. Instead of just banning him because he has a different view. This is the 3rd statement on this matter and they all come across as do as we say or don’t play our game.
— cindershadow (@cindershad0w) December 19, 2017
here come the thought police, mind your thoughts.
— Jimmy P (@james_succ) December 20, 2017
Who cares about product quality. We have a safe space sign like we’re in the Jim Crow South. 👌
— Sophia Eris (@HiddenTara) December 19, 2017
Geez this is bad. Might sell out soon tbh. Stop with the kumbaya garbage.
— Weeb Supremacist (@RamenLewdles) December 19, 2017
This is great! I love it. But you cannot, and should not try to control social media platforms that do not belong to Wizards, or Hasbro. Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Patreon, etc do not belong to your Corporation. Please stop setting precedents that are not healthy in a free world
— Reigh-Leigh Foster (@therealreigh) December 19, 2017
So, Ford should stop making cars when people stop driving drunk? Company policy should not be dictated by how some people are.
— Jeremiah T Bachmann (@JTBachmann) December 19, 2017
Without any evidence of actual harassment, it would appear that Hasbro’s motivation was to make a public proclamation of their championing feminism against an evil white male. But it gets worse. The problem goes beyond simply a company banning Hambly from their events unfairly. Hasbro also could be said to have seized his personal property.
There is a version of Magic: The Gathering for desktop computers, a video game in which users can play and compete online. Just like the physical collectible card game, users can buy packs and singles online. Users spend hours as they do any other game, and spend tremendous amounts money on the content. The real dollar values of these virtual cards can often meet or exceed the values of the physical game. Hambly put years into MGO (Magic Online) and has spent thousands of dollars on these virtual cards over the course of his experience, he says. When he was banned from playing in Magic tournaments, the company also seized this account, shutting it down with all of the content inside.
Not only is Hambly out the substantial collection value of his virtual cards, but he had more than a hundred dollars in event tickets, which are extremely liquid and are a cash equivalent for many players. All of this was erased and Hambly was not compensated for it, he says.
Read the rest of the article here.
Magic: The Gathering is where people go to escape politics, not have it rammed 24/7 down their throats. We at Bleeding Fool hope this backfires for Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. Fascism has no place in gaming. Please sign Hambly’s Change.org petition — requesting that he and fellow banned player Travis Woo — be reinstated.
Either you gaming should be about fun, freedom of speech and liberty — or it should be about social justice. The market and the gaming community must decide.
The ever effervescent Count Dankula had this to say when the issue first started.
Follow Jeremy Hamby on Twitter at @mtgheadquarters
