Popular fighting game pro player Dominique “SonicFox” McLean said this week that he will stand up for LGBTQ+ rights by attending Evolution Championship (Evo) events going forward, representing his community by being vocal and proud. His comments are in response to the announcement that Evo owner RTS had been fully acquired by the Saudi Arabian government-owned mega-city project Qiddiya.
For those that are not familiar with Qiddiya, it is backed by the Saudi Arabia government’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which has invested tens of billions of dollars to build the mega-city project as a tourist destination for the world that includes theme parks, race tracks, hotels, arenas for sports and esports, and areas for companies to set up offices to do business in the region.
In a public post on X, SonicFox said that he planned to attend these events and be as vocal as possible to represent the LGBTQ+ community. He said, in part:
“I have a personal life goal that I’ve been dedicating myself to when it comes to EVO and I plan to see it through. I will not be erased, even if it means I’m the only voice there. I will simply be Gayer and Louder than ever as I wave my Trans Rights Flag in grand finals. I implore other allies that if they attend these events that you wave these flags around too as much as you can. We, the LGBTQ+ community, are a core part of the FGC and we aren’t going anywhere, and this only motivates me to use my platform to amplify our voices even further.”
In a subsequent post SonicFox said that he is willing to die for what he believes in:
Being myself painted a bit of a target on me in general.
Truth is, I’m willing to die for what I believe in and I’ve made peace with that a long long time ago.
It may sound a little insane I know, but I don’t think I’d find any fulfillment in life if I couldn’t do the things… https://t.co/jn819mcctb
— SonicFox (@SonicFox) September 3, 2025
The Esports Advocate reached out to SonicFox and representatives for Qiddiya Gaming prior to the publication of this story for a direct comment, but they did not respond at the time of this writing.
For those that are not familiar with SonicFox, he most recently worked with Luminosity Gaming, describes himself as a “black nonbinary furry queer,” and has never shied away from his identity as a gay person/furry. More importantly for FGC fans throughout the world, SonicFox is one of the most accomplished professional players in the world, with numerous championships under his belt: He is an eight-time EVO champion, who most recently won the 2025 Evo championship in Mortal Kombat 1—in fact he has been competing at the international event since his debut in 2014. Over the years he has competed at the highest level in such games as Mortal Kombat X, Injustice 2, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Mortal Kombat 11, Skullgirls, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Dead or Alive 5 & 6, Under Night In-Birth, Soulcalibur VI, Guilty Gear -STRIVE, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, TEKKEN 8, Street Fighter 6, and BlazBlue : Cross Tag Battle, among others (you can read more about his accomplishments on Liquipedia).
Other issues about Evo have been resurrected this week as well; many pros in the FGC were vocal about boycotting Evo 2020 when allegations came to light about former CEO and co-founder Joey ‘MrWizard’ Cuellar, who was accused of bribing “young boys to take their clothes off and jump in pools.” He was ultimately removed from his position and Evo Online was canceled that year as a result. But as prominent esports personality and content creator MonteCristo pointed out in an X post on Wednesday, the Saudi Arabian government now issues online approvals for marriage as soon as a girl reaches puberty, according to Human Rights Watch, basically creating a legalized system for underage marriage to occur easily. Given that the Saudi Arabian government owns Qiddiya, and by extension Evo is owned by that entity, it could be argued that its new owners support sanctioned underage marriages to young girls.
According to Human Rights Watch the Saudi government now issues online approvals for marriage as soon as a girl reaches puberty
So, as fucked up as it is, EVO has traded being run by one pedophile for a nation that approves of pedophilia and practices it… pic.twitter.com/jBQrO8yaEM
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) September 3, 2025
More broadly, speaking publicly about gay/trans rights in Saudi Arabia has been a challenge for proponents, who believe that changing perspectives on rights can happen by showing up and being vocal. Team Liquid, whose leaders identify themselves as gay and have been frank about the topic in public, learned this year that human rights simply won’t be visible when the Saudi Arabian government creates promotional content about its events. For example, in the documentary series “Esports World Cup: Level Up,” released on Amazon Prime in June, Team Liquid’s rainbow flag representing the LGBTQ+ community was censored, and if there were any conversations about the topic they certainly weren’t apparent in the final product.
Further, speaking out about topics that are against the law (such as gay rights) or speaking against the government on Saudi Arabian soil can carry strong punishments. Often these activities can lead to charges of terrorism, which is punishable by decades-long jail sentences or even public executions. Terrorism charges are often handled by secret courts and those in custody find themselves subjects to strict punishment including starvation, torture, and isolation, according to claims by international human rights watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Projects backed or owned by the Saudi Arabian government such as Qiddiya, Esports World Cup, Esports Nations Cup, and now Evo are frequently criticized for helping the government engage in “sports washing,” or using various forms of entertainment to cover up its record on human rights, women’s rights, LGTBQ+ rights, military actions in Yemen, and more. These and other criticisms have been highlighted frequently by international watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.