Magic: the Gathering Archives

The time Jeremy Hambly was banned from ‘Magic: The Gathering’

With Jeremy Hambly in the news because of his assault at the hands of Matt Loter the early morning of August 2, 2018, hours before the start of Gen Con, I thought it would be a good idea to check why Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the maker of Magic The Gathering, banned him for life. I’m glad I did because when WotC banned him on December 7, 2017, I criticized the ban. I’ve since learned I was wrong.

Hambly deserved the ban.

I knew the ban was for harassing and bullying cosplayer Christine Sprankle, but I didn’t know the details. At the time, I thought the claims of harassment and bullying were overblown. I now know they were not. I never saw the video in which Hambly harassed Sprankle because YouTube removed it. He posted the video on 5 June 2017 and entitled it, “Playset Of Beta White Knights Prevent Rape Of MTG Cosplayer @cspranklerun.”

If you think the word “rape” along with a woman’s twitter handle is a bad idea for a video title, you would be right. Even though YouTube removed the video, an archived copy is available, something I didn’t know when this controversy first arose.

The video is a lot worse than what I expected.

What Jeremy Hambly said about Christine Sprankle

In the video, Hambly referred to Sprankle as a “serial virtue signaler” and “crying for patron dollars professional cosplayer.” This was in response to Sprankle complaining publicly on Twitter about a man who posted a message on her Facebook page stating her cosplay gives him an erection. Hambly stated he would react favorably if he received a similar comment from a man.

Hambly then proceeded to run down the list comments made in response to Sprankle’s tweet, calling everyone who supported her a cuck and/or white knight. He called one man a shitty father.

Hambly also accused everyone supporting Sprankle on Twitter of wanting to penetrate her.

Hambly said cosplay is lingerie and then proceeded to go over photos of Sprankle cosplaying and made lewd, sexual comments about each photo. He then told his viewers to go to her Twitter account and let her know how unattractive and unsexual she looks.

Jeremy Hambly is a raging hypocrite

He also seems to have a major issue with Sprankle having a Patreon account so her fans can send her donations. Hambly calls these people “fucking losers.” I find this strange considering he too has a Patreon account so his fans can send him donations. Why does he criticize Sprankle for doing the same thing he does? Because Hambly suffers from weapons-grade hypocrisy.

Sprankle posted the following on Twitter:

It has been a rough year. And I have blocked and not said anything about him because I wanted it to die but without a doubt MtGHeadquarters/UnsleevedMedia has made my life hell this whole year with his unnecessary videos/tweets about me and other members of Magic.

— . (@cspranklerun) November 25, 2017

Sprinkle has since deleted all of her tweets.

I am embarrassed I supported Jeremy Hambly

Watching the video Hambly made about Sprankle leaves me feeling embarrassed I originally supported him after Wizards of the Coast (WotC) gave him a lifetime ban. After watching the video removed by YouTube, I think WotC did the right thing. Hambly is a dishonest, toxic person. I say he’s dishonest because he was purposely spreading false information about the ban as soon as it happened.

Hambly said he never harassed Sprankle. That’s not true. WotC said actions taken in his social media accounts were in violation of WotC’s code of conduct. YouTube is part of social media. Hambly claimed in the above video to never agreeing to WotC’s code of conduct. That’s not true. If he had a Magic Online account, something he said he had before the ban, he had to check a box agreeing to adhere to the WotC code of conduct when he first created his account and then again each and every time the game was updated.

Hambly said he never harassed Sprankle, nor did he direct others to harass her. That’s not true. Anyone who watched the original video YouTube removed knows such claims are false.

Hambly harassed Sprankel.
Hambly directed others to harass Sprankel.

Hambly benefited greatly from YouTube removing his original video. Because it’s somewhat difficult for people to find, he’s able to lie and mislead people about the video’s content.

If I was WotC, I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my sanctioned events. I wouldn’t want Hambly to have anything to do with my game made for ages 13 and up.

Jeremy Hambly getting punched at Gen Con is now officially a dumpster fire

I’m calling it. As of 9:44 pm eastern daylight time, Jeremy Hambly getting attacked by Matt Loter at Gen Con is now officially a five-alarm dumpster fire.

Little by little, the story of him getting punched to the back of the head because of his “political beliefs” has become more and more absurd. Last night Jeremy released a video that said a whole host of things, some of which contradicted what he said earlier.

The whole thing is a mess. An absurd, hot mess.

Jeremy Hambly should have been prepared to deal with people who hate him

Jeremy is a controversial, YouTube culture warrior. He was banned for life by Wizards of the Coast, the makers of Magic: The Gathering for what they considered harassment and bullying of people in the community. He’s not allowed to attend sanctioned Magic: The Gathering events or tournaments for the rest of his life. There’s a reason they took this extraordinary step.

Whatever you think about Jeremy, there’s no denying he’s disliked by a good many people. It’s a reaction he spends a lot of time and energy cultivating.

If this happened to me, I would not have called the police

If someone like Matt Loter attacked me and I walked away with little to no physical damage, I wouldn’t have called the police. What’s the point? I generally don’t like the police and I try not to interact with them.

I also wouldn’t broadcast to the world that I allowed some alt-lifestyle freakazoid to approach me from behind and punch my head several times. The last thing I would want is my name in a public record documenting my inept reaction to being assaulted by someone. Consider how often Jeremy refers to men he doesn’t like as cucks, soy boys, and beta males. Now consider how he acted when he met with someone who wanted to do him harm. He ran away. At the very least, I don’t think he should ever call into question another man’s maleness.

Is Jeremy Hambly an alcoholic?

I think Jeremy has a drinking problem. In the military, this incident would be classified as an alcohol-related incident. He would have to be evaluated and depending on the findings, forced to attend an alcohol a rehab program and AA meetings. Even if he didn’t have, according to him, 19 drinks before the assault, the fact it happened outside a bar at 2:00 am would trigger some kind of mandatory treatment. Good thing for Jeremy he’s not in the military. Good thing for the military too. His reaction to someone visiting violence upon him is to run away.

Jeremy Hambly wants to be a victim

Jeremy seems obsessed with making this one drunken incident his defining moment. He seems to want to wallow in victimhood. That’s too bad. Who wants to be known as a human punching bag? Who wants to be a professional victim? Not me, that’s who. I would do everything in my power not to be those things. I get the impression this was the first time he was attacked by someone. I wouldn’t call it a fight because that implies both parties participated. Matt threw ineffective punches and Jeremy fled to the safety inside the bar.

That, of course, is if you believe any of it even took place.

I’m extremely thankful to have health insurance

I’m so, so thankful I have health insurance. I received a statement in the mail from the University of Maryland Medical Center for the surgery to remove part of my large bowel last month.

Because I have health insurance, my out of pocket cost for the whole thing was zero.

I’m lucky to have health insurance. Actually, I’m lucky to be married to Sheri who works for a company that offers health insurance at a subsidized cost. One of the drawbacks of working in the gig economy is that I don’t have employer-subsidized health insurance. That’s because I’m my own employer. And yes, my boss is a real jerkface.

Not having health insurance is not an option

I’d like to think I wouldn’t put myself into a situation where I didn’t have health insurance. Without actually being in that situation, I can’t be 100 percent certain, but if Sheri didn’t have access to health insurance, I would get a job, any job that provided subsidized health insurance.

The topic of not having health insurance has come up recently in the online Magic: The Gathering community. Wedge, a popular YouTuber, does not have health insurance. He had a serious problem with his back and traveled against doctor’s orders to Grand Prix Las Vegas from upstate New York. The day after he arrived, he woke up not being able to move his legs.

He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and had surgery the following day. Being that he didn’t have health insurance, his sister started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his hospital bills. So far they’ve raised nearly $80,000.

Because of people who donated to the GoFundMe campaign, he was able to make a huge dent in his medical costs.

I'm extremely thankful to have health insurance - Bent Corner

For everyone’s sake, I hope Wedge does whatever he needs to do to get health insurance. First, it’s the law. Secondly, I doubt people will donate to a GoFundMe campaign the next time he has something majorly wrong with his health. Then again, maybe they will. It’s really hard to say for certain. If there’s anything people online can be counted on to do, it’s doing the unexpected.

My wife is my hero

If I wasn’t on Sheri’s health insurance, if she didn’t work for a company that provided subsidized health insurance, I’d have to jettison my dream of driving strangers in my car and get a job doing something I hated even more than driving strangers in my car. I could still do e-commerce integration jobs on the side. I could also still sell WordPress plugins on my business website. The nice thing about that stream of revenue is it’s all automatic. I created the plugins a while back and people can buy them and then download them without any action taken by me. It’s all automatic. Someone bought one last night when I was sleeping.

Making money while you sleep is the real American dream.

I cannot wait for Thanksgiving this year

I'm extremely thankful to have health insurance - Bent Corner I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. I have quite a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful to be married to the greatest woman in the world. When I first experienced complications from what would be later diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, I’m thankful I was taken by ambulance to Meritus Medical Center where I received world-class care, especially from the nurses on staff. I’m also extremely thankful to have Dr. Tu Bui as my primary doctor. He not only provides excellent care when I see him for an office visit, he visited me in the hospital several times. In fact, he told me I had Crohn’s before any of the experts in gastroenterology made the diagnoses. He’s the best primary care doctor I’ve ever had. Finally, I’m extremely thankful I was able to have Dr. Andrea Bafford perform the surgery that saved my life.

I’m a lucky and thankful man.

Who knew James Gunn used to be a Twitter edgelord?

James Gunn, director of fine movies such as Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 used to be a Twitter edgelord. The problem is when he stopped being a Twitter edgelord and decided to be a respectable movie director, he failed to go on Twitter and delete is edgy tweets.

I don’t understand why Gunn didn’t hire a social media person to manage his online content. He’s now a famous movie director connected to Marvel Studios which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Why didn’t he have someone scrub this old Twitter stuff a long time ago?

He should have deleted all his old tweets as soon as he signed on to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy. That’s what a normal human would have done.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for James Gunn. The San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) is taking place and he was scheduled to appear. I’m sure that’s not going to happen now. The SDCC is like the Daytona 500 for nerds. The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the NFL’s FIFA World Cup. So obviously, right now is a terrible time for something like this to emerge.

It will be interesting to see if Marvel Studios fires him from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. As terrible and unoriginal as his edgelord tweets were, his movies are very good.

Update

Marvel Studios has fired James Gunn.

Chris Kluwe violated Wizards of the Coast’s Code of Conduct

Former punter of footballs and aficionado of geeky things Chris Kluwe is a Magic: The Gathering game ambassador. Unfortunately, he doesn’t appear to have been representing the game very well. He recently posted the following tweet about deceased video game critic John “TotalBiscuit” Bain:

Magic: The Gathering is produced by Wizards of the Coast (WotC). Like a lot of large companies, they have a code of conduct. Unlike other large companies with a code of conduct, their code of conduct applies to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. It doesn’t even matter where you are, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere else on the Internet, the WotC code of conduct applies to you. People have received lifetime bans from WotC for breaking the code of conduct on YouTube and Facebook.

From the official WotC Code of Conduct:

I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the important parts, the parts Ambassador Chris Kluwe is in violation of.

Can you harass a dead person?

Even though TotalBiscuit is no longer with us and cannot read the hateful words written by Ambassador Chris Kluwe, TotalBiscuit left behind a wife, Genna and a son, Orion. Imagine the pain they will feel when they read Ambassador Chris Kluwe’s tweet. Even if they don’t know who Chris Kluwe is, all they will have to do is a Google search of TotalBiscuit to read his hateful words.

Chris Kluwe violated Wizards of the Coast's Code of Conduct - Bent Corner — Genna Bain, wife of John “TotalBiscuit” Bain.

What does it even mean to be a Magic: The Gathering Ambassador?

I have no idea what it means to be an ambassador of Magic: That Gathering. That’s something that’s up to Wizards of the Coast to work out. I do know that anyone representing the game should at the very least conduct themselves in a way others can safely emulate. Has Chris Kluwe done that? Hardly. In fact, if anyone else acted out the way Chris Kluwe acted towards TotalBiscuit, they’d be looking at disciplinary action by WotC for violating their code of conduct.

Chris Kluwe is an example of who not to be

That’s not to say Chris Kluwe isn’t a good example for others. He is, just not in the traditional, conventional sense. If you’d like to know how you should conduct yourself in the public square, just imagine how Ambassador Chris Kluwe would act and then try to do the complete opposite.

Will Wizards of the Coast ban Chris Kluwe?

Former NFL punter and celebrated nerd gamer Chris Kluwe is still around and is still a terrible, awful person. I had not thought about this guy for quite a while, but then I saw the following tweet of his:

TotalBiscuit (government name John Bain) was a YouTube video game critic. He died from colon cancer on May 24, 2018. He left behind a wife and a child.

A lot of the social justice types didn’t like TotalBiscuit. I don’t even know why. I know he was a supporter of gay and trans people, as well as other minorities. Why people like Chris Kluwe would celebrate his untimely death is something I don’t understand, nor is it something I even want to understand.

Chris Kluwe is still a terrible human being - Bent Corner — TotalBiscuit (government name John Bain).

I can’t imagine disliking someone so much that I would publicly celebrate their death. The only person I can think of who would provoke a similar response from me is Osama bin Laden. TotalBiscuit was no Osama bin Laden. He never killed anyone or did anything even remotely evil.

As much as I dislike Chris Kluwe, I would never celebrate his death, publicly or privately.

How will Wizards of the Coast respond?

It will be interesting how Wizards of the Coast (WotC) responds to Chris Kluwe’s tweet. If they follow their own precedence, they will give Chris Kluwe a lifetime ban from Magic: The Gathering. That’s what they did to YouTube creator Jeremy Hambly for making a negative comment about Magic: The Gathering cosplayer Christine Sprankle.

What Chris Kluwe said about TotalBiscuit is far worse than anything Jeremy Hambly said about Christine Sprankle. If WotC doesn’t ban Chris Kluwe for what he said about TotalBiscuit, then they’re guilty of weapons-grade hypocrisy.

Update

Since writing this post, I was able to watch the video made by Hambly about Sprankle. Now that I’ve watched the video, I think what Hambly did was far worse than what Kluwe did. I still believe Kluewe is a terrible human being, Just not as terrible as Hambly.

Hambly deserved his lifetime ban. I only wish it could be longer.