A big question remains about Dr. Disrespect’s contraction ban: what we know

It’s been a busy week for Twitch, the market leader owned by Amazon when it comes to video game streaming. After a wave of allegations of sexual misconduct, the service has begun banning even some of its top streamers, responding to previous allegations that the company did not apply its code of conduct equally to streamers large and small. Arguably his biggest move was to suspend the account belonging to President Donald Trump’s campaign, banned for hateful behavior, not the largest account on the site in any way, but arguably the highest profile in a broader sense. However, one of the biggest bans remains a relative mystery.

And so for the past few weeks, the gaming and streaming community has been asking itself a big unanswered question: why was Dr. Disrespect banned from Twitch?

Guy Beahm, better known as Dr. Disrespect, was one of the biggest names in the broadcast until last Friday, leveraging an exaggerated and aggressive fictional personality for widespread success, earning him millions of followers on the site, a deal. of exclusivity and even offers of books and television. All of that is in question now, because last Friday his channel disappeared with little indication of why. All we got was a standard Twitch statement about the code of conduct, and a no-detail statement from Disrespect itself:

And here is Twitch:

“As is our process, we take appropriate action when we have evidence that a transmitter has acted in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. These apply to all transmitters, regardless of status or importance in the community.” .

Beyond that, there is little indication of what is happening. Some other brands also appear to have removed disrespect from their licensed offerings, but it still remains elsewhere. Criminal charges are a possibility, but ESPN found no arrest warrants, arrests, or charges in Los Angeles or San Diego counties. The ban is rumored to be permanent, but even that has yet to be confirmed.

So while criminal charges remain a possibility, it’s also clear that Beahm has walked the razor’s edge or violated Twitch’s code of conduct in the past. This is his second ban: The first was to broadcast from the bathroom at the Los Angeles Convention Center during E3, although it was only temporary.

At the time, many criticized that disrespect was receiving preferential treatment due to its large number of followers. This latest ban appears to be a rejection of that idea, at a time when Twitch is desperately trying to clean up its public image in the face of a wave of allegations related to sexual harassment and conduct. It remains possible that this ban is not the result of a single violation or charge, but of many. Again, these are just theories: none of the parties involved has provided any information, and the usual sources have been airtight.

What we do have to do is the final moments of Beahm’s final broadcast, where he seems visibly distressed by something he received on his phone before silently looking at a Roblox video and abruptly ending the broadcast. While the disrespect may be telling the truth that Twitch has not informed him of the specific reasons behind his ban, it seems impossible that what he received on his phone was unrelated.

In these situations, the information usually comes out one way or another, and that is likely to happen. For now, however, the reason for the ban remains a mystery.