ESPN has delayed airing an Apex Legends tournament following recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
The broadcast of the Apex Legends EXP Invitational, which was originally scheduled to air this weekend, will be delayed until October 6, October 15, and October 27. The tournament itself was held last weekend.
ABC – which owns ESPN – said in a statement that the delay was “out of respect for victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings.”
ESPN and ABC has made the decision not to air the TV broadcast of the XGames Apex Legends EXP Invitational that was scheduled for this weekend, in response to the recent mass shootings, according to an ABC Affiliate TV station source pic.twitter.com/6BMwdbk93t
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 8, 2019
President Donald Trump and the Republican leader in the House of Representatives pointed the finger at violent video games earlier this week, seeking to deflect attention away from a gun industry that backs their campaigns with tens of millions of dollars in donations.
Walmart has also pulled violent video game displays from its stores in response to the mass shootings and comments from the president partially blaming video game violence. However, the retail giant will continue to sell actual guns.