Ivy, CRiT Awards organizer, released a new statement on social media. Friday June 28.

We have learned The CRiT Awards were receiving threats The statement from June 28 said, “Our various social media presences were being targeted by a group of people who deemed our stances as against their own, and they felt the need to use hostility to make their point known. This resulted in an onslaught of harassment against my staff, myself, and those who we strive to recognize with the awards.”

I think that’s just terrible. No one in our hobby deserves to be threatened openly. If you don’t agree with the CRiT Awards or their staff’s stances on whichever issue, okay. That can easily be accomplished without hostility, threats, or violence.

Remember, we’re here for TTRPGs and related content. That’s what the awards are all about. The CRiT Awards are supposed to recognize up-and-coming people in our hobby who have made outstanding contributions. At no point in time did this have to become political.

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

Then Gen Con got involved.

The Instagram statement went on to say, “…on the 24th, we received an email from a member of Gen Con’s staff, requesting a phone call, which happened at 12:52PM and lasted for a total of 12 minutes.
We want to emphasize that this particular staff member was very kind and apologetic, in both the situation and the need to facilitate the phone call.”

It sounds like Gen Con gave Ivy/The CRiT Awards multiple options, but the safest one was to pull the physical awards presentation out of the convention. I still think this was the best, safest option from both points of view. Gen Con should not be liable for injuries received by the Awards staff because they can only do so much to provide a safe environment. The Crit Awards likewise should not have to be responsible for injuries sustained during their presentation in person. It’s just basic safety when there are volatile and controversial views held by various members of the crowd.

If the ENNIES, ENWorld’s annual TTRPG Industry awards, held a political opinion that might rile up an angry mob, I would expect Gen Con to take the same approach. I don’t think anyone at Gen Con meant to single out The CRiT Awards so much as do what was best for all parties involved. I think it’s sickening and sad that there are so many hateful people in the RPG hobby, but it really only takes one or two to stir up trouble. I think the safest thing The CRiT Awards could have done was take the event virtual, which they are doing.

The rest of the message is pretty much the same.

I’m personally proud of Ivy and the staff of The CRiT Awards for standing by their values. I’m especially impressed that they denounced anti-Semitism along with their anti-Zionist stance. I know they received a lot of flak for that particular viewpoint and it’s good to see Ivy and staff standing up for the Jewish people.

I think The CRiT Awards are making the best of a very ugly situation. Ivy and crew should be commended for keeping their heads held high and continuing on their journey. Despite all of the negativity and hostility, they are making the best of the situation and recognizing creators who contribute positively to the hobby. I hope next year goes better for them.

Please, let’s move forward with kindness, benevolence, and compassion for one another. There’s enough hate in the rest of the real world without dragging it into our escapist hobby. Peace.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.