An Announcement made by ABC says that ESPN is pulling out from the Apex Legends EXP Invitational Tournament and delaying it for sometime later this year. The announcement comes after the recent mass shootings in America that had dozens killed and many injured victims.
The network had sent out a note cited the reason of the delay in the wake of the tragic El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio mass shootings last week.
Out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings, ABC will no longer air ‘EXP Invitational APEX Legends at X Games’ on Sunday.
The tournament was originally scheduled to run this weekend on Sunday, August 11 from 3-4 PM PT. However, it will now be replaced by E:600 – Forever Broncos. The tournament is now going to be aired sometime later this year. However, Bloomberg reports that the tournament has got a new date for October 6 at 5 pm PT, while reruns will follow on October 15 and 27.
The event will feature a total of 80 teams from around the world, each with a trio of players competing for the prize money of $500,000.
The announcement of the network pulling out came a day after President Donald Trump blamed the mass shootings on video games and violence shown in the media. During a press conference, the President said,
We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this.
Refuting the statement of the President, the Entertainment Software Association said that there have been numerous scientific studies that have established that there is no causal connection between video games and violence.
What do you think of ESPN and ABC pulling out from the Apex Legends Tournament? Post your comments below.
