Background on SRS
Background on SRD

Now the company behind the game has given him the boot for life, presumably after some private correspondence. What does /r/magicTCG think?

After reading his story, I see no reason why he should be banned from magic over a crime he committed years ago. He's had his civil rights restored even.

If he has been banned for no reason except for his conviction, I only ask that Patrick Chapin follow him. Otherwise, there is no justice. [+97]

Justice in that case would mean every current and new Magic player getting a federal background check before being issued a DCI number. [+74]

I agree completely. To piggy back on your post, I think its atrocious that others who have been convicted of sex crimes are allowed to continue playing IF Jesse was banned for this reason. The separating factor between them and Jesse is that Jesse was too good at magic and was skillful enough to earn a feature match. That's not a reason to receive a ban. EDIT - I do not agree everyone should receive a background check. I just don't think they should be harsher on Jesse than they are on all the other sex offenders playing magic. The difference between them and Jesse is that Jesse was a good player who caught the attention of some angry tweeters. Since that's not a reason to be banned, they should ban the other sex offenders or fuck off with the special treatment. [+47]

It couldn't be because he's frighteningly unrepentant and deflecting about what he did? Nahhh.

He was convicted of sexual battery and quite honestly, it's entirely possible that his judgement was impaired due to alcohol as well. The fact remains he served his time and has even gotten married. I know a person who went to federal prison for decades but got his law degree in the joint and is now a successful defense trial lawyer. People change. Sometimes, prison works at rehabilitation which is the fucking point. [+63]

This is a perfect example; if you do the crime and do the time, you still are considered scum. The kid was fucking 19 and drunk. What he did was really fucking bad, but they were both drinking underage and couldn't handle their liquor. People don't make smart decisions when drunk. The victim was the one who agreed that the punishment fit the crime. I mean, I feel like all this "white knighting" is just people trying to attention whore by pretending to be concerned. [+38]

Yeah I mean who hasn't anally raped passed-out women over a toilet when we get a little tipsy, common thing. And he's certainly proved he's changed by completely refusing for the past however many years to take any responsibility for what he did.

I didn't say it's a defense, I did state that was a reason as to why he made a bad decision. I'm also not defending his bad decision. But the victim agreed with the verdict, the perp served his time, and life moves on. It seems like the tweet was just self serving "white knighting". The point I make about people changing and prison rehabilitating people is still salient. [+20]

Stellar followup.

I see what they are trying to do ... if you understand Pro Magic as a large advertisement campaign for the game, I am sure you don't want convicted rapists on the tour (reformed or not).

However, damn, does this look bad now. They didn't do anything until there was a public outcry, and even then they don't put a formal policy in place (which could be discussed and criticised), but rather silently ban the single individual that the outcry was about, presumably in the hope that the issue just goes away.

As I said, I kinda understand WotC, but I really don't like the smell of this. It seems way too much like somebody got banned because of a Twitter / Facebook / Reddit shitstorm more than anything else. [+109]

Yeah, totally the fault of people reacting to the dude being disgusting and not the fact that he's disgusting.

Yet a convicted drug dealer is part of the Hall of Fame of magic. It doesn't really add up, does it? [+86]

Dealing drugs, brutal rape. What's the difference?

So is there now a convicted felon ban across the board? [+104]

If the reason for Jesse's ban is his criminal past wouldn't it only be fair to ban Chapin as well? Not saying they are the same crime but Jesse has served his time as well [+44]

[It doesn't make any sense], I agree completely. Source: See banning Zach Jesse after multiple tournaments years after his crime. [+52]

Yeah, I'm sure that's why he was banned. Yeah, dealing drugs is totally the same thing. Lots of original thoughts here.

If they announce a concrete new policy they'll likely distinguish between violent crimes or sexual offenses and more "socially acceptable" felonies like drug running.

Edit: added sarcasm quotes [+30]

Yes, drug dealing is a tad more socially acceptable than brutal rape. And?

If they want to institute a ban on people convicted of certain crimes then that is their prerogative. However, banning a single person who has not violated the DCI rules (afaik) because his ugly past was brought up seems like an inconsistent move. [+32]

Yep, totally the fault of the people "bringing his past up".

I worry about the precedent this sets. "You're allowed to participate in Magic tournaments as a convicted felon/rapist, but if you get too much publicity then you're OUT." Hoping WotC will explain their decision, but I don't expect them to. [+93]

WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE PRECEDENT KICKING UNREPENTANT RAPISTS OUT SETS?!?

I assume Drew Levin will also be banned, given that he actually violated some of Wizards' publicly stated principles about public shaming. Perhaps they are only enforcing some set of hidden and deeply arbitrary principles now.

Either way, this decision is disgusting and the otherwise wonderful people like /u/LSV__ that endorsed Levin's public shaming should be mortified. You can't hide behind saying at the time, "I don't want to see anyone banned; I just want to raise awareness about this irrelevance to the game and demonize someone. Your play, Wizards corporate." This is of course how they would react. Good job everyone. No one feels "safer" on account of your efforts. [+51]

Altering people of an unrepentant rapist: as bad as being an unrepentant rapist, if not worse.

And this is why the US correctional system is so messed up. People want revenge and punishment not justice and rehabilitation. [+62]

Because people flipped out about a convicted felon who served the time assigned to him being allowed to play a card game. People in this country will never accept time served as a sufficient punishment and will always demand more, and now WoTC has banned him to appease those people. [+44]

The US system that didn't make him spend a single day in jail despite pleading guilty? This totally rehabilitated dude that refers to his brutal rape of an unconscious woman "a mistake"?

Somewhere, Drew Levin lost consciousness when all the blood suddenly rushed into his groin. [+62]

...

Wizards rep /u/trickjarrett :

Here is a statement I've been given to post. I cannot give any follow up.

"We work hard to make sure all players feel welcomed, included and safe at our events so that they can have fun playing Magic. We don’t generally comment on individuals or provide position statements in the abstract, but we take action to address player issues and community concerns when we feel it is necessary."

/u/pvddr :

I'm sorry, but if the intent is to make me feel safe, that backfired. I don't feel safe when the policy is to ban people from ever playing Magic again for arbitrary reasons with no explanation because a small Twitter mob was unhappy about it. The fact that he was allowed to play and then banned when he t8ed something just adds to the problem.

Also, this post fails to mention the accusations that allegedly his MTGO account was also seized. Surely no one is threatened by the fact that he plays MTGO? What's the explanation for this? [+225, gilded x2]

This poster is Hall of Famer [Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa], one of the most respected people in the game, and I have never been so disgusted with him.

Corporate speak for "If this guy won a Pro Tour and the Gawkers of the world got a hold of it, it would make our game look like shit and create a PR nightmare. You think we're ok with that? One player being banned is better for us, as a company, than to risk something like this blowing up out of our control." [+61]

Not disagreeing with the choice, but I feel a lot of us wanted this to result in an announcement of a clear, distinct and consistent policy on this subject matter. This statement looks like "Drew Levin got Zach Jesse banned because the resulting shit storm brought it to our attention." [+29]

Not to sound angry, but we as consumers are demanding a statement on this issue and your policy going forward. We do not care about your internal policies. Nor, should we. For me, lack of transparency is affecting my decision to participate in Wizards Organized Play moving forward. [+53]

So can we talk about people who dig up (public) personal history of others and post about it on twitter? That seems like it goes against Wizards' policy. [+33]

You guys are idiots. The guy served his punishment. He tried to better his life and was really damn open about it. You are now the ones playing the judge role. This feels so bad. [+28]

What if I don't feel safe playing Magic because I'm afraid something from my past will be dredged up? What then? [+24]

Awful awful awful. I await the humbled look on all your faces when this is retracted out of overwhelmingly negative community reaction. YOU HAVE A CONVICTED FELON HALL OF FAMER. But this guy is somehow dangerous or negative to the community? [+23]

This makes me seriously want to consider taking a break from magic. Punishing someone for a past action, that the player has even been open and discussed, based on the vocal armchair warriors of social media is a bad standard. This is saying "you could be punished for something you did years ago, unrelated to the game, at any time" [+20]

I don't feel safe with a convicted drug dealer who's supply may have got to my kids or my pregnant sisters hands and harmed them physically and mentally. I expect another ban to follow. thank you [+18]