Blizzard Prohibits 'Overwatch' Team Fusion University From Wearing Their 'FU' Jerseys Onstage

The jerseys of Team Fusion University, Philadelphia Fusion's Overwatch Contenders qualifiers, do not make an appearance during the grand finals in Poland.

According to a Philadelphia Fusion staff, the team was not aware of the ban until the Contenders media day in the country.

"The players frantically started messaging me at 3 a.m. ET," said the PR manager.

Why Did Blizzard Ban The FU Shirts?

Blizzard banned the jersey for the letters "FU" emblazoned on the center of the shirt with its meaning, "Fusion University," right below it. This, apparently, is "too hot to handle," according to its Twitter account.

Blizzard is not likely too keen about FU's alternate meaning, rather than simply being an acronym of the sponsor's name. To be fair, there might be an actual intent behind the design other than innocently abbreviating Fusion University.

Overwatch has recently been taking the initiative to remove toxicity from Esports, leading to Blizzard's decision. Nonetheless, it is hard to prove that there was indeed a malicious intent.

The team of six proceeded to wear a black shirt during their matches with the OpTic Academy and Toronto Esports.

Blizzard's Appropriateness Meter Seems Off

Joe Marsh, Philadelphia Fusion's CFO, tweeted a collage of four photos in reaction to the banning of the FU shirts. The meme quietly questioned Blizzard's attitude toward other terms with double meanings.

Two of the pictures show equally profane terms such as the number 69 jersey of CoolMatt from Houston Outlaw and the "BAMF" belt buckle of McCree, an Overwatch hero. These elicited no reactions from Blizzard. These were even approved to be appropriate for the audience despite the BAMF abbreviation having no other obvious meaning except for its obscene connotation.

Fusion University Continues To Win Matches

Even without their official jerseys, Fusion University still won against OpTic Academy on May 12 and Toronto Esports on May 13. Fusion now leads 3:1 over OpTic in a Best of 5 games while it leads 4:1 over Toronto in a Best of 7 games. Fusion University also faced British Hurricane on May 13, but its loss gave the opponent a 3:1 lead.

So far, though, the lack of a proper uniform does not seem to have an effect on the team's performance. It is still unknown when the team's new costume is going to be unveiled. However, the banned FU shirts are now available for sale on PFusion's Shopify website along with Nerf Poko shirts and other merchandise.