Women have been told that they do not belong in the gaming and esports ecosystem and have always been treated as outsiders by the industry. There are instances where women players get objectified and harassed online for playing titles like Valorant. As a result, it has become so normalized for women to hide their identities online to avoid threats, harassment, and other unwanted comments. In a recent stream, Valorant pro player Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek came across a sexist player in his Valorant lobby while playing with his partner and streamer Hannah “Bnans” Kennedy.

Sexist player dodges Valorant lobby with Shroud in it

Shroud witnessed a sexist player firsthand while playing a game of Valorant with Bnans. The player who had the in-game name YourLocalSmurf decided to dodge the agent select as he learned that he was teamed up with two women in the game. The player asked if he was playing with “two females” and after Bnans answered in the affirmative, the player said, “Alright. I’ve got to dodge, bro. I’ve lost every game with a female. Good luck with your next match, though.”

Shroud could not believe what had happened and said, “He actually did it.” Shroud also inquired if this was a regular issue. He asked, “That’s pretty normal in ranked, huh?” and Bnans said yes.

Shroud called out “sh*** influencers” after the incident

Shroud wondered why this kind of negative behavior was not getting any better. He said, “I wonder why. I would think it would be getting better, right?” Following this, Shroud placed the onus on toxic influencers in the esports and gaming space. He added, “We have so many influencers who are just sh***y people that don’t realize. Like, they might not be actually sh**y people but they just don’t realize the impact they’re having on younger generations.”

Shroud did not name any of these “influencers”, but this topic has been at the forefront in general due to controversial personalities like Andrew Tate, who has been getting banned on social media platforms over the last couple of days.

Notably, former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) pro and Twitch streamer Jason "JasonR" Ruchelski was spotted deliberately avoiding female players, including pros, in his Valorant lobbies by allegedly faking technical difficulties. Incidents like these only further women away from gaming and esports culture.