ABC Pulls Apex Legends Esports Tournament in Light of Mass Shootings

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ABC has cancelled plans to air the Apex Legends esports tournament this Sunday, in light of the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter; the broadcast — a collection of highlights from the tournament, which took place Aug. 2 and 3 in Minneapolis — is still expected to air at a later date. Apex Legends is a popular first-person shooter video game published by Electronic Arts where players team up to compete against opposing squads in a battle-royale setting. Esports is a rapidly growing industry, with several TV networks already airing the well-attended and lucrative tournaments, but violent video games are now under increased scrutiny following the pair of shootings that left a total of 32 people dead.

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The Apex Legends tournament was slated to air on ABC at 4 pm ET on Sunday, but ABC affiliates received an email this week stating that “out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings,” the tournament would be pulled off the schedule and replaced by the sports documentary E:60 — Forever Broncos.

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