More than three months after your last public statement, old one Super Smash Bros. Competitor Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada released a video today talking about his plans for the future.
Quezada was one of several Smash players who faced accusations and prohibitions around sexual misconduct and predatory behavior last summer. Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth claimed that Quezada started having sex with him when Quezada was 20 and he was 15.
But in the months following Lauth’s allegations, Quezada and several other people began to dig holes and expose flaws in Lauth’s story, prompting Quezada to sue him, claiming that everything Lauth said about him was “completely false” This included a long post on Medium where Quezada detailed the events of CEO Dreamland 2017, where Lauth stayed with Quezada and the story of sexual interactions started for both sides.
Now, months later, Quezada is back and confirms that the process is closed. He did not give specific details about his legal battle, but said the two sides had reached a “legal agreement” and that he can now focus on moving on with his life.
When talking about moving on, he mentioned that he didn’t think he would go back to Smash or creating content.
“I felt, at a certain point, that I needed to heal myself away from the place I once called home, home obviously being the Smash community, ”said Quezada. “I never saw myself competing again. I never found myself working with teams and sponsors again. And as much as it sucks because I really love doing it, I never found myself broadcasting and creating content again. “
But he said that changed when he received a Discord invitation from a friend on his birthday, November 7, and joined a surprise chat with his former community members. They all wished him a happy birthday and he spent hours talking to them, listening to stories of how he positively impacted their lives with their streams and content.
Then, his community sent him a book full of photos they took with him at various tournaments and events over the years, adding personalized messages to them as well.
“After that day, I realized that if I could help make just one more person have a better day, I think it would be worth trying again,” said Quezada. “With that said, I would like to try to broadcast again. I would like to go back to playing and having fun with the community we have built and trying to move on. “
Despite his hopes, he understands that the reality of his situation is still not favorable considering how long he has been absent and the situation that caused all this will cause many people to hesitate to support or accept him.
Quezada is still banned from Twitch, although he filed an appeal. He said he has always considered Twitch his home for streaming, as he has been active on the platform for more than seven years. But if nothing changes, he will explore other options.
Quezada ended his video talking about how he has been doing therapy frequently. He thanked several people who came to him, offered support and helped to convince him to seek help, encouraging others to do so, if they had access to it.
“For me personally, I would have liked to have done this before,” said Quezada. “It has been a great help to me from the beginning. I don’t know what will happen from now on, all I know for sure is that I miss going out with my community. I miss being able to help various causes and charities, and I wish I could support my family again, because they depended on me ”.
So far, Lauth has given no answer and the community as a whole seems be open to see Quezada returning to Smash community slowly, as he continues to get help and is transparent to move on. Many players, like Samuel “Dabuz” Buzby and Ramin “Mr.R” Delshad, are already asking the community to embrace him while he heals and tries to move on.