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As part of Mental Health Awareness Week and World Mental Health Day, Team Vitality and Bodyguard have unveiled a detailed report addressing online toxicity and hate in esports. The initiative forms part of Team Vitality’s KARE program, launched in 2023 with support from EVNIA, the gaming monitor brand of Philips. Together, the organizations aim to make mental health a central focus in gaming by prioritizing awareness, prevention, and action.
Good to Know
For the first time in France, a major esports organization has published transparent data on digital harassment. Between August 1 and October 6, 2025, Bodyguard’s hybrid AI and human moderation systems monitored 19 Team Vitality accounts across Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch.
The software processed 57,000 messages, automatically removing over 2,000 hateful or toxic posts that included personal attacks, racist and homophobic insults, and threats directed at players and their families. In total, 4.5 million followers of these accounts benefited from Bodyguard’s protection.
Bodyguard Founder and CEO Charles Cohen said:
“In esports, just like in traditional sports, online hate can destroy careers. With Bodyguard, we protect both the players and the passion of millions of fans.”
Team Vitality League of Legends coach, James “Mac” MacCormack, added:
“In esports, the pressure doesn’t stop when the match ends. It often continues on social media, where every decision and action is scrutinized. It’s essential to protect our teams and stay on the right path, even when the online storm feels more intense than the match itself.”
Bodyguard’s analysis revealed that 3.6% of messages directed at Team Vitality accounts were hateful—lower than the esports average of 4.2%. Around 10% of posts were classified as positive, aligning with broader industry benchmarks.
Although this progress shows that proactive moderation is working, toxicity remains a pressing concern. Platforms such as X and Instagram were identified as hotspots, with toxicity rates reaching 4.6% and 2.5% respectively.
Team Vitality President and co-founder Fabien Devide, known as “Neo,” explained:
“Social media is everywhere, and in esports, its influence has become immense. Positive messages can uplift, but negative ones can corrode and sometimes destroy someone. It’s essential to find balance and set boundaries. In this fight, Bodyguard is a true ally.”
While esports continues to face higher exposure to online hostility than traditional sports, data from football shows that only 3% of messages contain hate speech—though football also has a higher rate of unwanted spam content.
Esports thrives on social media and live streaming, where intense passion and instant reactions can easily spiral into hostility. Team Vitality, EVNIA, and Bodyguard hope to transform this dynamic by providing players, staff, and fans with a healthier digital ecosystem.
The joint report highlights that esports communities express their emotions more through criticism and reactive commentary than through celebration, with only 18% of messages rated as positive compared with 24% in football. These insights show that the emotional volatility of esports fandom makes active moderation vital.
By implementing the KARE program, Team Vitality has become a pioneer in mental health advocacy within gaming. The organization continues to prove that performance, inclusion, and player well-being can coexist, setting a precedent for a more respectful and responsible esports culture.
“This partnership demonstrates that technology and empathy can work together to protect mental health and preserve what truly matters: the joy of gaming,” the report concluded.