Should Martin Shkreli Be Banned From Competing in eSports?

Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, has earned himself a great deal of media attention following a recent decision to raise the price of a life-saving drug, Daraprim, which is produced exclusively by his company. While news and social media rage against his public business dealings, other circles are concerned by his participation in the world of eSports.

That’s right. The ‘Most Hated Man On the Internet’ seems to fancy himself a professional gamer in his spare time. In some ways, this redefines the image we project of lofty corporate CEOs. We tend to envision these sorts playing golf at the country club during their spare time rather than engaged in competitive eSports. How times have changed.

Shkreli, known by the handle ‘Cerebral’ in the League of Legends community, founded the team Odyssey Gaming in April of this year. The team eventually merged with Team Imagine in August and went on to place third in the NACS Summer Playoffs.

It will be interesting to see how the team weathers the reputation earned by its chairman. Another question to consider is whether or not such dealings done outside of the eSports arena should have any impact on the world within. Professional athletes often times find themselves in hot water regarding personal matters, though many fans remain willing to salute their abilities in the playing field. Should the same hold those engaged in eSports? Perhaps it depends on the gravity of the scandal.

Buying the rights to a drug that is essential to treat terminally ill patients and raising the price 5000% is certainly something that garners one a great deal of negative attention. It almost has a bit of a comic-book super-villain ring to it. While Shkreli has emphasized during interviews that the decision works for the better interests of patients, it is difficult to take such proposed sincerity at face value after perusing some of the items shared on his Twitter feed, which was set to private as of today. If you missed the opportunity to view it prior then you missed quite the show. YouTuber Salvia Erik was able to successfully distill the essence of this display in his following video commentary.

Clearly Shkreli portrays himself as a someone who is true to their convictions. A venture capitalist with a reputation that already precedes him, he was profiled by Bloomberg in 2014 as a young investor who rose from humble beginnings. While working as an intern for Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money, he found himself under investigation by the SEC. Though never convicted of wrongdoing, he gained himself a particular form of prestige as a result of the investigation, and has continued to build on that reputation in the years proceeding. Earlier this year he was the subject of yet another case of business misconduct which resulted in another investigation by the SEC. At the time it would have been difficult to imagine how Shkreli could later trump these defamations, though his recent actions have gained him more attention than both previous scandals combined.

As eSports continue to grow in popularity and viewership, so tpo does PR become an ever more determining factor of success apart from skill of the game. After all, image is everything when you’re in the public eye. Fans tend to have a difficult time supporting and idolizing figures who demonstrate significant character deficiencies. It will be additionally interesting to see how his fellow teammates react to the bad press surrounding their fellow teammate and leader.

Perhaps we may see some distance grow between Shkreli and the sport, though this remains to be seen, and is largely in the hands of the his colleagues and spectators. Rest assured that in whatever manner the gaming community reacts to these developments, it will certainly set a precedent for how we view eSport athletes to come. It may be reasonable to assume that many will see this as an undesired blemish on a sport that is going to great lengths to be viewed in a serious light.

Whether or not Shkreli’s career decisions will impact his success as a competitive gamer remains to be see, though let us consider one last thing in this regard. Mike Tyson’s professional boxing career continued in spite of a terrible abuse scandal, though his career screeched to a halt when Evander Holyfield lost his ear to Tyson’s bite in 1997. How does nibbling an ear off weigh against Shkreli’s lastest actions? You be the judge.