Electronic Arts, the company behind Madden 19, has set up a fund for the victims of the Jacksonville Shooting. EA will be donating a total of $1million dollars and has asked other people within the community to support the cause.
— #WeAreMadden (@EAMaddenNFL) August 30, 2018
The shooting took place at a Madden 19 esports tournament and cost the lives of 2 competitors, named Elijah “Trueboy” Clayton and Taylor “Spotmeplzzz” Robertson, and injured many more. The incident has shaken the esports community that has previously never been the target of such a vile act.
EA will donate the $1million to people left injured after the tragic accident as well as to the family members and relatives of the Elijah Clayton and Taylor Robertson. They have also set up a fund called The Jacksonville Tribute through which others can contribute their own donations for the victims.
Lastly, EA will host a live stream called the Jacksonville Tribute Livestream. This live stream will be held on Thursday, September 9, although details on what the live stream will actually entail have not yet been shared. All we know is that it’s being organized in order to bring the gaming community together and to show support to the victims of the shooting.
EA has truly shown their colors with how they have handled this entire ordeal. The company gets a lot of deserved hate for the way the monetize games, however, they clearly still care about the gaming community. There is never an easy way for companies to deal with such an unexpected and tragic event but EA has done a fine job. Whether you think it’s just PR or not, money is going to the victims and EA is getting the community together which is what matters most.
The Jacksonville shooting will definitely be remembered as a tragic day in the history of esports that will most likely change the way that esport tournaments are organized. It can be expected that large esports tournaments will have added security in order to prevent other, similar tragic events from taking place.
