Amid the fallout surrounding prominent streamer Dr Disrespect, 2K confirmed that his presence will be removed from NBA 2K24 over the coming weeks.
Last week, a former Twitch employee posted a message on Twitter/X, alleging that Dr Disrespect was permanently banned from the streaming platform for inappropriately messaging a minor. Dr Disrespect, whose real name is Herschel “Guy” Beahm IV, has since admitted to sending the messages and confirmed that they were the reason for his ban. This revelation has led several organizations to distance themselves from the streamer.
Dr Disrespect’s gaming studio, Midnight Society, has disassociated itself from him. Additionally, the San Francisco 49ers announced that they would no longer collaborate with Doc.
Now, 2K has decided to cut ties with Dr Disrespect. His name and associated content will be removed from NBA 2K24. 2K confirmed that his name will disappear from the game, and his custom animations will be replaced with generic ones. Dr Disrespect had been featured in MyCareer mode, where his in-game jump shot and dunk style were equippable animations.
This change will be implemented with the Season 9 patch, as the update for Season 8 was released just a few days earlier. Season 8 will go live on June 28, 2024. Additionally, 2K stated that Dr Disrespect content would not be featured in subsequent games.
The news follows Dr Disrespect’s statement on X that he did interact inappropriately with a minor but denied any ill intention behind the messages. He posted, “Were there Twitch whisper messages with an individual minor back in 2017? The answer is yes. Were there real intentions behind these messages? The answer is absolutely not. These were casual, mutual conversations that sometimes leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate, but nothing more. Nothing illegal happened, no pictures were shared, no crimes were committed, I never even met the individual.”
The decision by 2K to remove Dr Disrespect’s content reflects the broader industry’s response to the controversy, emphasizing a commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all players and fans.
