Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff is one of the biggest Twitch streamers in the gaming community, with a massive following of 6 million on the platform. The 32-year-old is known for playing first-person shooter games like Fortnite Battle Royale, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends.
What Did Nickmercs Say in the Controversial Tweet?
Nickmercs has managed to stay away from controversy until he responded to a tweet from esports commentator @MLGPuckett about a violent protest that broke out near his apartment. @NICKMERCS replied, “They should leave the little kids out of it. That’s the real issue.”
This reply invited a lot of backlash in the comments section. Many viewed Nickmercs’ reply as anti-LGBTQ, with even Puckett speaking against him. Others sided with him by saying that it was for parents to decide how and when they want to talk to their kids about this rather than it becoming enforced within schools.
With LGBTQ becoming a topic of hot debate in recent times, it is only natural that such statements stand the potential to spark controversies.
The protest unfolded during the school board’s vote on the official recognition of June as Pride Month on campus. The resulting verdict, which did not favor the anti-LGBTQ populace, resulted in a brawl and three arrests.
How Did Nickmercs React?
During his stream the next day, Nick dedicated a few minutes in the beginning to acknowledge his problematic tweet. He further expressed that he did not intend to cause anyone harm, although he did go on to acknowledge that harm was indeed caused but refused to apologize for the tweet itself.
He substantiated his stance by saying-
“So, the video bothered me. I don’t think it’s any place for a teacher or a school; I don’t think it’s the place to speak about things like that. And it’s not that I think it shouldn’t be spoken about. If that’s what you got from that Tweet, you’re just wrong. I don’t have any quarrels with anybody here; I don’t have any quarrel with people on the internet. It wasn’t an anti — I guess — gay tweet. That wasn’t what it was. If you think that I hate you because you’re a certain way, you couldn’t be any more wrong.”
He added that he had a different perspective since becoming a father. Puckett’s initial tweet was the one to which Nick initially responded, and Nick expressed remorse for creating turmoil in the replies and for witnessing his supporters insult Puckett.
Why Did COD Remove His Skin?
Shortly after this debacle, players noticed the absence of his operator bundle in both Call of Duty’s Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 a few hours later.
Despite the removal of the skin from Call of Duty stores, Nickmercs has yet to release an official statement. He did put out a tweet expressing gratitude to those who continued to support him after the controversy. Only time will tell if Nickmercs skin will return to the store.
If you want to know more about Pride Month, check out this article.
What do you think about the Nickmercs controversy? Do you think Call of Duty should have removed his bundle because of the debate? What are your views on the issue? Do you think schools should inform students about LGBTQ issues?
Do let us know what you think in the comments below.
