After placing president Joey “Mr. Wizard” Cuellar on administrative leave following accusations of sexual harassment and pedophilia, Evo has officially removed him from the organization and canceled its Evo Online event.
With Cuellar out, Evo co-founder Tony Cannon will now act as the company’s CEO. In a statement, Evo also said it is working to completely separate the company from Cuellar after relieving him of all responsibilities.
“Over the past 24 hours, in response to serious allegations recently made public on Twitter, we made the first of a series of important decisions regarding the furute of our company,” Evo said. “Effective immediately, Joey Cuellar will no longer be involved with Evo in any capacity.”
Cuellar was accused today of paying a 17-year-old boy $20 in 2001 to see his penis and frequently giving tokens to teenage boys to jump in a pool with just their underwear on.
“Progress doesn’t happen overnight, or without the bravery of those who speak up against misconduct and injustice,” Evo said. “We are shocked and saddened by these events, but we are listening and committed to making every change that will be necessary in making Evo a better model for the stronger, safer culture we all seek.”
After the allegations were made public, several players said they would not be competing in Evo Online, including Dominique “SonicFox” McLean. Nearly all of the games’ developers also pulled out of the event, which would have made it nearly impossible for the tournament to run.
Evo will be working to issue refunds for all players who purchased badges or other packages for Evo Online and the equivalent of those proceeds will still be donated to Project HOPE.
