Dallas Fuel Coach Jayne Reportedly Directed to Delete Tweet Criticizing Blitzchung's Ban

Dallas Fuel assistant coach Justin "Jayne" Conroy was directed to delete a tweet criticizing Blizzard for its punishment of Hearthstone pro Ng-wai "blitzchung" Chung, who voiced support for the protests currently taking place in Hong Kong, according to a report from the Dallas News.

Jayne told the Dallas News he was told to take down the now-deleted tweet but declined to give more details, according to the report. It's unknown who told him to delete the tweet.

The tweet in question referred to Blizzard's decision to ban blitzchung, who shouted "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time!" during an interview last week during the Taiwanese Hearthstone Grandmasters broadcast.

Blizzard booted blitzchung from Hearthstone competition for a year, rescinded thousands of dollars in winnings and fired both commentators who appeared opposite him in the interview.

Blizzard cited cited Hearthstone Grandmasters rules page 12, section 6.1 (o) in its ruling. That rule allows Blizzard to remove a player from Hearthstone Grandmasters and reduce their prize total to $0 if determines the player to have committed "any act that, in Blizzard's sole discretion, brings [the player] into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise Blizzard's image."

In his deleted tweet, Jayne reportedly recognized Blizzard's right to enforce its rule, but took issue with the "censorship and severity of consequences." His condemnation echoed the feelings of many in Blizzard's various communities, including Overwatch fans who have since attempted to turn Mei into a symbol of the Hong Kong resistance.

Protests in Hong Kong continue to rage as participants demand a full democracy, continued independence from mainland China and more.

Photo by Robert Paul/Blizzard