CEO 2023 is the FGC at its inclusive best, even in the face of looming anti-LGBTQ+ laws

On March 6, 2023, Florida-based government officials introduced House Bill 1521. It would strictly determine which bathrooms people could use based on their assigned gender at birth, an attempt to ban non-binary people’s freedoms within the state. This bill, part of a broader political attack on the transgender population currently taking place in the US, will take effect today, July 1.

Just a week before this date it was CEO 2023. A community born and raised fighting game event held in Daytona Beach, it has been the biggest event in the state for over a decade. CEO, or Community Effort Orlando, was created as a hub not only for stick-throwing, button-punching Florida natives, but also for national and international wrestlers who wanted to come together and share their love of the genre.

But, 13 years after the dream began to come true for the underbelly of Florida’s FGC, the 2023 CEO may have been the last hurrah for a community looking down the barrel of growing social and legal bias around them. .

But first, some background. Over many years, CEO has built a reputation as not only one of the biggest fighting game events in the US, but also the most community-focused. It’s in the name for a reason: Alex Jebailey was thrust into the role of tournament organizer in 2010 and has been providing a competitive event, social space, and wrestling ring to Florida natives and travelers alike ever since. distant.

This is in stark contrast to Daytona Beach, the location the CEO moved to as of 2018. This part of Florida has always had a bad reputation for anti-social behavior, especially towards minority groups. As such, experiences with racism and other abhorrent behaviors unfortunately it has become a shared experience for attendees.

“Daytona Beach is horrible. But this is not something to blame Jebailey for. He already assured us that he has found a better place in the next two years. But Daytona Beach is terrible,” Tringy writes via Twitter direct messages . Having played fighting games competitively since 2016, he made the journey to CEO this year. Despite the danger of harassment outside the Daytona Beach Ocean Center for trans attendees, she is a firm believer that “Jebailey always delivers.”

“Is the event itself a safe space? 1000%! Jebailey and his team always ensure our safety inside the event at all times, and even address our concerns in a very timely manner,” he explains. As an example, a 16-year-old player started throwing hands after a bracket loss at this year’s event, and Jebailey asked them to leave immediately..

Kenzie, another trans attendee, traveled to CEO 2023 as her second major event. While they initially asked the family to come with them, they ended up traveling to Daytona Beach alone. “It was a lot of fun! The atmosphere felt very cozy and nice, if that makes any sense. I didn’t have any issues with anyone there and I talked to a lot of people and had a great time.”

While they did not personally face any antagonistic behavior outside of the venue, Kenzie recorded this so as not to dress femininely in public spaces. A Louisiana resident, they say they are used to doing so to avoid hateful comments. The only space they felt comfortable dressing up in was inside the CEO itself, where they dressed up as the dolphin-loving May from Guilty Gear. When they weren’t in costume, those who were conversing with Kenzie took pains to address them with the correct pronouns.

Starting at CEO 2023, Jebailey and his team were able to host an event with a drastically different culture than the world outside of the venue. However, with anti-trans legislation coming to the state soon, it may no longer be possible to create a safe space in this way. Under House Bill 1521, individuals or businesses that go against the ruling can face prosecution or fines of up to $10,000 if the laws are broken.

The incoming legislation has given rise to numerous people online urging Jebailey and team to move out of state. However, the reality of such a move may not be as easy as it reads on paper. Tringy says:

“It’s very unrealistic. He is in a contract right now (through 2024), and breaking that contract, or any contract, requires up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. As much as we want to see it move, some of us who know a little bit about financial matters within companies and organizations and contracts know that if you break them you would have to pay a multitude of fees.

“And moving the CEO to a completely different state would require an absurd amount of money, which would mean a definite increase in registration fees, food costs, the cost of internet and streaming services, etc. Not to mention that the local people of Florida would lose and potentially I’m not going. Moving to another county, like Orlando, is 100% likely. Moving to another state? Nope. Nice try.”

But while moving county may avoid many of the local problems in Daytona, it won’t avoid the legal troubles that the CEO and other Florida events will face. These laws in themselves are enough for many to reconsider attending the event in the future, including Kenzie. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ve been thinking about it,” she says. “Ultimately it depends on what happens a year from now, but if everything continues as it is, I probably won’t go next year, at least.”

We reached out to Alex Jebailey ahead of CEO 2023 for his thoughts on the situation, but he did not respond. His team, however, publicly share tweets that echo a welcome message to all parties.

That is the future that the CEO and many other events in the US, a country that is becoming increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ+ groups by the month, will have to face. We’re seeing a similar story with Games Done Quick; an event with a large proportion of enby and trans players.

This month’s event defended itself as a welcoming and safe space for all attendees, in the face of increasingly aggressive pressure from the conservative right. LGBT fighting game players aren’t going anywhere, and their presence in the CEO role this year makes that clear.