SonicFox has done it again. TheeSports Awards Console Player of The Yearwon theMortal Kombat 11World Championship, fighting through the losers bracket to take home the gold. After winning, they then endorsed presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on stream.
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SonicFox took home over $40,000 in prize money for the tournament, a massive amount of money for a fighting game, although nothing compared to the10 million recently won at aFortnitetournament. Draped in a Trans pride flag and carrying their fursuit’s head, SonicFox took to the stage to close out the tournament with a simple message: “Vote Bernie.” This is, of course, a reference to current Democratic presidential candidate and United States Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders.
SonicFox’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders follows a trend of more eSports players using their platforms to support political causes. Last year aHearthstone player was banned from competitive play after his comments supporting the Hong Kong protests. His banning was met with widespread condemnation and even a rebuke from United States House members.
For some, the mixing of politics and video games remains controversial.Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney recently expressed that politics should be kept out of the gaming industry, and there are a number of players who agree with him. Some gamers view video games as an escape from the outside world, and reminders of political realities can come off as an unwelcome interjection.
However, many gamers would argue they don’t have the luxury of escaping the outside world. This is certainly true for a black, non-binary, furry gamer like SonicFox. They would argue that merely existing as themselves is a political act, and they have a duty to raise awareness for causes that are important to them and to try and make the world a better, more inclusive, place.
Mortal Kombat 11is out now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
