Esports: Head coach resigns after remarks about mental health

[December 10, 2018]    LONDON (Reuters) - Brandon 'Saintvicious' DiMarco has resigned as head coach of esports team FlyQuest after a furious reaction to his comments deriding mental health conditions like depression.

He had described depression, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as "made up bullshit".

Later he backtracked and claimed he had suffered from depression himself.

But in a statement on Sunday he apologized for "callousness".

"I said some seriously inconsiderate things on my stream yesterday," he said.

"I said that mental issues were exaggerated and that people suffering from those issues should be able to overcome it on their own.

"This was an ignorant statement stemming from my severe lack of subject matter knowledge.

"I was surprised to realize just how uninformed I was regarding mental health, especially because it is an important part of my responsibilities as a coach.

"I hope, through this reality check, that I can grow to become an advocate for mental health issues and a better pillar for the people I care about."

FlyQuest is a professional League of Legends esports team based in the U.S.

(Reporting by Steve Tongue; editing by Martyn Herman)

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