Last night, adult entertainment production company Brazzers announced that they wanted to become a major sponsor within the fighting game community.
The company's special events director, Rob Steele, chatted with e-athlete LI Joe on his Twitch TV stream, Late Nite with LI Joe. According to Steele, Brazzers not only wants to sponsor a team of pro players, including LI Joe, but sponsor its own events.
At the moment, this is all talk. As of now, no official deal has been made between Brazzers and any fighting game player, though considering that he contacted the company about the sponsorship, if "Team Brazzers" becomes a reality, LI Joe will likely be on it.
Based on Twitter, The response from fighting game fans has been overwhelmingly positive:
"Shoutout to @thisislijoe and @iamrobsteele for making history tonight. Yo #Brazzers we in there. #FGC", tweeted user Dennis Fox.
Outside that bubble, some aren't as excited about the prospect. The proposition comes hot on the heels of a flurry of controversies regarding sexism and harassment in the fighting game circuit. The idea of tying fighting games to the porn industry could cause a lasting schism in a community that is largely divided about its future.
Tom Cannon, co-founder of the EVO fighting tournament has already announced that there will be no place for promotional materials from the adult entertainment industry at the event: "To be super clear, there will never be a reference to this particular sponsor at Evo, in any way, shape, or form."
