Dallas, TX – Esports giant VapeCloud9 announced today that they’ve dropped Marcus “TechWarrior” Henson from their roster after he tested negative for recreational drug use.
TechWarrior made a name for himself playing Marvel vs. Capcom games and was signed onto the VapeCloud9 team early last year. He was brought onboard for his impressive results not only in Marvel games, but in Dragon Ball FighterZ as well. While DBFZ has become more popular as of late, he was still a Marvel player at heart, or so it seemed.
In recent years, VapeCloud9 implemented a random drug testing policy with the intent of keeping players from making bad decisions. Unfortunately when it came time for TechWarrior to be tested, he passed with flying colors.
“Sobriety has no place in top level Marvel vs. Capcom,” said VapeCloud9 spokesperson Rhys Bowman. “It’s not easy for us to drop Marcus because he is a great guy with a lot of talent. However, we can’t sit by and watch another Marvel player throw away their potential by abstaining from drugs and alcohol. What kind of example does that set for the kids who aspire to be the Marvel vs. Capcom champions of tomorrow?”
Many players in the community expressed shock and concern at the news.
“It’s always hard to see sobriety kill a Marvel player’s career.” said fighting game fan Erik Foster. “I’ve seen so many players over the years quit smoking dabs and snorting bath salts, and then next thing you know, they can’t execute an infinite combo or time an unblockable setup. I just hope TechWarrior can make the right choices and get his career back on track before it’s too late.”
While many agree with the intervention, some aren’t so fond of the rising trend of teams and sponsors drug testing professional gamers.
“Drug testing in the work place is an unethical violation of privacy,” said longtime player Cristina Bishop. “If someone can still make top 8 at Marvel tournaments without doing a line of coke or rolling a fat blunt then that should be their right. As long as they can do their job and get results, then it shouldn’t matter that they don’t smoke crack, lick toads, or inject Krokodil.”
At press time, TechWarrior released a brief statement to address the situation. He apologized for letting down his fans and announced plans to check into the Salty Suite Relapse Center later this week.
