One of the judges at the official regional tournament for the Pokémon trading card game held in Vancouver this weekend received a lifetime ban after allegedly molesting transgender competitors.
Accordingly a member of Team Girl Powerwho competed at the Vancouver event, one of the judges identified as Travis Madaris dot esports, approached the group for a photo and later for their dinner on March 12. Madaris reportedly started inquiring about trans inclusivity when they took a photo together at the competition, but according to Eliza Barbera, the contestant who shared her team’s story, the interaction evolved with the individual members saying why they didn’t than women passed.
“These included that the online trans community has gotten way too unhinged into making all trans people look bad, that trans people should wear pronoun pins at events if they don’t want to be falsely gendered, and that they end up going through each one individually, pointing out to us why we don’t pass as women,” Barbera explained in a TwitLonger post.
“It’s a good thing to say, so I can be respectful,” he reportedly said. Berbera also claimed that Madaris followed her and her teammates as they left the venue to go to a restaurant where they were supposed to have dinner after the competition and the first interaction with Madaris.
“He invited himself. During the short walk to leave the venue, he mentioned that he was kicked out of the jury for the weekend,” Barbera recounted in her post. “He gave us some details but out of respect for those involved I don’t want to talk about it. But we have a good idea [the judge] was problematic at this point. He walked further with us and said he would drink and celebrate with us.”
She added that he allegedly discussed mixing alcohol with the Valium he already had, and then Oxycontin as well. But Barbera says they managed to leave the venue without Madaris. However, she says he showed up at the team’s table half an hour after the meal.
“I remember the restaurant security getting involved,” she wrote.
my city reached out to Madaris and Girl Power for comment, but received no response from either at the time of publication.
Girl Power reported the incident to tournament organizers, who “permanently removed‘ him as he supposedly had several accusations against him prior to this incident, according to various tweets shared in light of the Girl Power incident. Barbera also said in her TwitLonger that Madaris herself told the team “he was kicked out of the rating for the weekend.” A Pokémon League participant added that some of Madaris’ behaviors were said to have caught the eye “fired” him from multiple leagues. It’s commendable that Vancouver organizers took action, but its long list of accusers raises questions about whether The Pokémon Company is doing enough to keep its players safe. my city contacted The Pokémon Company International to clarify whether the ban extends to all official events, but received no response at the time of publication.
Another Girl Power member, Natalie, supported Barbera’s account of the events And tweeted about how the Pokémon TCG organizers needed to do more to encourage inclusion within the hobby.
“There should be universal Pokémon training on how judges should address and speak to trans and gender queer people, preferably under the direction of a trans or gender queer person,” Natalie wrote. “Most of the judges are absolutely amazing, but the cracks that come through directly hurt the community.”
