The head coach of the Los Angeles Gladiators made an official and oddly abject apology to Houston Outlaws players he says he collided with backstage during the teams’ Overwatch League match Thursday.
Here’s our rundown of everything you need to know about the Overwatch League.
David “dpei” Pei says he inadvertently bumped into two Outlaws players during halftime.
“I hadn’t been watching where I was going. I was distracted thinking about what to say to our team for Kings Row, but I wanted to apologize immediately,” Pei said in a statement posted to the Gladiators’ official OWL page.
“I am sincerely sorry for my actions and assure you that there was no malicious intent,” Pei went on. “Even though it was an accident, it was still unprofessional of me to shoulder bump players from another team so again, I am sorry.”
This seems a bit much for an accidental backstage collision, even if it was more than simply “bumping into” the Outlaws players. However, Pei’s statement may reflect some heightened ambient tension in the Overwatch League following the punishments OWL handed down this month for bad behavior. Among those dinged was Outlaws head coach Tae-yeong “TaiRong” Kim, who received a formal warning after posting an insensitive meme on social media.
The Gladiators wound up winning 3-2 against the Outlaws, and went on to defeat the Florida Mayhem 2-1 in the next match. This week, they’ll be facing off against the Philadelphia Fusion on Wednesday, with a match against Boston Uprising set for Saturday.