edman · @edmanurias
3rd Nov 2017 from TwitLonger
Why I am no longer commentating at MKLeo Saga or the 2GGC Championship
(Keep in mind, it is not without much deliberation that I decided to make this as a public announcement. I have thought long and hard about this.)
I have been planning on attending this event since it was announced and was particularly excited because Leo is one of my favorite players and Mexico is one of my favorite Smash scenes. Back in August I had the privilege of going to Puebla to attend Smash Factor 6 where I got to know an amazing pool of talented players in an array of amazing sets for which I casted Top 16 Doubles and Top 32 Singles. I am also proud Mexican myself, so needless to say I was excited for these players to be here competing. A few days ago, Champ had asked me if I would be down to commentate Top 8 in Spanish with Arath. This would be my first Top 8 at a major in any language, let alone an S-tier, so you can imagine why I would be particularly honored to be commentating at this saga.
Fast forward to this Tuesday, I get a message out of the blue saying that it had been decided by Esports Arena that I would not be allowed to commentate at MKLeo Saga or the Championship. Not only was I just told that I would not be able to share my passion at an event I had been looking forward to, but I had no clue that I would have been at the Championship as well. This is devastating news to me as I work arduously to earn these opportunities month after month. It had been brought to the attention of the Head of Events at ESA that I thought “the production staff was doing a bad job” and that there was “an issue” with me not being paid.
What this reference is an exchange of private messages over Facebook Messenger between me and my friend who does some contract work for ESA. The context of this conversation takes place immediately after an incident that occurred during Top 8 of Fire Emblem Saga. I accompanied a fellow commentator to the upper floor of ESA where the Staff/VIP lounge is. He was under the impression that we could be there. As soon as we got up there, we were met by my friend, the contract worker, and my other friend who is an employee of the arena. She immediately told us to leave and so we did without making a fuss.
I find myself back in the front row of the spectators when I get a message from my friend, the contract worker:
https://imgur.com/a/RiSjI
I told him it wasn’t a problem. Since this person is my friend, I decide to confide in him some frustrations that I had been feeling in our private conversation. I expressed my criticism that I believed the ESA side stream needed to be improved. I put a lot of effort into my commentary. When everyone tunes into an MSM, WNF, or Saga all they see are eager commentators who are ready to speak about the game; but it is rare that people are aware of all the groundwork your commentators put into being prepared. I do a lot of work offstream: all of my spare time between full-time job and other responsibilities goes into hours of studying VODs, driving miles on end to attend weeklies, and asking for advice/feedback from my peers in an effort to gain experience. I volunteer my time because it’s what I love doing the most. I want to share my passion for Smash and its community in the best way I know how.
My friend’s response was that I was actually getting a lot of “exposure” for appearing at these events.
This upset me because it belittles all of the work commentators put into this craft. So, my response is a little irritated:
https://imgur.com/a/0hSTa
Since the news that I would indefinitely barred from commentating, I have tried to make amends. I have reached out to several ESA staff members, including in a direct apology to my friend, the ESA employee. The response I received was that I had been disrespectful and insulting to ESA and that I was simply not good enough to be on the roster:
https://imgur.com/a/JkLqB
I was never let known in any way shape or form that I was under this “provisional” period where my commentary was under review from behind the shadows. No warning whatsoever, communication could have gone a long way.
Do what you will with the information, but if you ask me it all comes down to a miscommunication I had in a private conversation with my friend. I have always been grateful to ESA for giving me the opportunities to commentate at the sagas month after month. I have nothing bad to say about the production staff. I feel disappointed to my core on the outcomes of these events and will not stand by as ESA continues to treat their commentators, players, and partners with such disrespect for all their volunteered hours, hard work and commitment to the community.