During Super Bowl weekend, Chris “Dubby” McFarland become the 2017 Madden Bowl Champion, winning a total of $75,000 as the best player in the United States.
That prize total has gotten a bit smaller, however, after problems surrounding McFarland surfaced.
EA forced the champion to return a “whopping” $3,000 for violating EA’s Code of Conduct. The decision was announced last week in a statement by Matt Marcou, Madden Competitive Gaming Commissioner, via the official Twitter account for Madden Ultimate Team.
A message for the Madden community. pic.twitter.com/K3irT84bOZ
— Madden Ultimate Team (@EASPORTS_MUT) February 9, 2017
The infractions in question involve offensive and racist remarks that had since been deleted by McFarland. Though EA states that the reasoning for the fine was because of actions during and around Madden Bowl, “Dubby” has shown a history of racist social media posts. Those inclined to read a sampling of his content can do so here.
EA allegedly gave McFarland a warning, but the inappropriate conduct continue. This ultimately led to his fine.
After the punishment was announced — and EA likely put a filter on its champion going forward — McFarland took to Twitter to proclaim that the “real Dubby” has died.
https://twitter.com/DubDotDUBBY/status/829496084032536577
Though EA can’t punish someone for their posts years before tournament time, the company can start doing a better job of researching participants before inviting to take part in major events like the Madden Bowl.
If Madden is ever going to become a true king in the world of eSports, making sure the competitors don’t have major character issues should be near the top of EA’s to-do list.