Electronic Arts via Twitter
Publisher Electronic Arts has announced that their EA Play Live event has been postponed to June 18 at 4 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. EDT, citing the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
The event was planned for June 11 at 4 p.m. PDT, according to the official website.
Here’s a statement from the company:
The delay comes after the official Twitter account for the Madden NFL franchise posted a statement on May 31 that they were going to announce Madden NFL 21 on that day but they will instead stay quiet to allow the conversation about Black Lives Matter to continue.
“We’ll find another time to talk football with you,” read the statement. “Because this is bigger than a game, bigger than sports, and needs all of us to stand together and commit to change.”
You can see the full statement below:
An official statement from EA SPORTS
On June 2, EA CEO Andrew Wilson announced that the company is donating $1 million to organizations dedicated to the fight for racial justice in the U.S., including the Equal Justice Initiative and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund. The company will also double match any funds that employees donate.
However, the money that EA is donating is just a fraction of Wilson’s salary, with the CEO making $35,728,764 in 2018 according to non-profit foundation As You Sow.
EA also promise to give everyone at the company an additional paid day every year to apply to volunteering in the community, with an additional company-wide volunteering day being held on June 19, or Juneteenth Day. They will also hold a company-wide Community Conversation on June 9 so they can hear their employees thoughts and matters on how EA can help fight bias, discrimination and injustice in the world.
EA isn’t the only publisher delaying a livestream amid growing U.S. protests. PlayStation announced that it will postpone its PlayStation 5 event, originally scheduled for June 4, to an unspecified date in the future.
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EA Play Live Delayed Amid Black Lives Matter Protests