German League of Legends player Marcel Feldkamp, who plays as a jungler* for Counter Logic Gaming, tweeted about his experiences after being turned away by strict US border security.
In a series of tweets, Feldkamp called his visit to America, “literally the worst experience in my life. Homeland security doesn’t ** around.”
Despite the US recently announcing that eSports players can now apply for an athlete visa, Feldkamp was detained after officials questioned his intentions in visiting the country. Although he had a legal visa waiver, they were clearly not satisfied.
In an official statement on website OnGamer, CLG General Manager Kelby May spoke on their disappointment with the decision.
“Though Dexter’s athlete visa is in progress, it hasn’t been approved yet. He had documentation to come to the US legally through a visa waiver, but was still denied access to an extent and for reasons still unknown. Dexter is not an employee or contracted to CLG in any way. He has not been paid by the company or any of its employees, partners, or affiliates. We assume he was turned away due to the assumption he was attempting to enter the US and obtain work illegally, so this ruling greatly disappoints us if it is in fact true. Dexter is still trying out, but it is almost certain he will not be able to return to the US until he is an official employee and his athlete visa is approved.”
*In case you’re wondering what a jungler is, like I was, here’s an excerpt from the LoL wiki. ”Technically a reference to the act of killing neutral monsters, which are based in the jungle portion of the map. What many will refer to as jungling, however, is the act of a single champion roaming across the map, dedicating themselves exclusively to the farm available in the jungle and the neutral monsters that occupy it.”
