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Organizers for annual Smash Bros tournament Apex have confirmed frontman Johnathan Alex Strife” Lugo will no longer be involved with the event, following multiple sexual harassment allegations.
Kotaku has an in-depth report covering the string of accusations that have come in over the past few days regarding Strife’s harassment of women, as well as the abusing of his position at Apex. This post on Twitter from Smash Bros. player Kay over the past weekendbeing the catalyst:
"I’m glad that as a community we’ve just decided to ignore that our biggest tournament is run by a repeated sexual harasser. If you don’t believe me, ask other women in the community."
Apex (who recently announced a partnership with Nintendo of America for its 2015 showing) has acted on the matter, with the company and Strife agreeing to part ways immediately. The move impacts the organization in the short-term, as Strife won’t be involved in Apex 2015 – scheduled to take place later this month.
"At this time, Alex Strife will be stepping down from his duties at Apex. We will be moving forward with Apex 2015," tourney organizers stated.
"As it stands Apex 2015 is the largest Smash Brothers tournament ever and the Apex staff hopes to bring you the best experience we can."
A number of notable competitive Smash Bros. players have spoken up on Twitter and the like to express their opinion on the matter. Many are in support of those alleging Strife’s wrongdoings, while others emphasize that Apex should be bigger than one person.
Apex 2015 will take place on the weekend of January 30th.
