ESPN will delay its broadcast of X Games Apex Legends Invitational from ESPN2 after the August 3 shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

The tournament, which took place on August 2-3 in Minneapolis, was scheduled to air on August 11. It featured 20 three-player teams competing for a US$150,000 prize pool.

As a show of respect and sensitivity for the victims, their families, and the affected communities, the coverage has been replaced by an episode of E:60, the sports network’s Sunday morning magazine show.

the hour long recap that was set for this Saturday at 10 PM on ESPN2 is no longer in the programming schedule, but can still be watched on ESPN3. the broadcast will still be shown on TV at a later date, according to an event source
— high class leakboy Slasher (@Slasher) August 8, 2019

The tournament highlights will be made available on the online streaming service ESPN3. The TV broadcasts on ESPN2 will be moved to the following October schedules:

October 7, 5 a.m. (GMT+8)
October 16, 11 a.m. (GMT+8)
October 28, 4 a.m. (GMT+8)

ESPN’s decision is receiving heavy criticism on social media. Many gamers maintain that video games do not contribute to real-life incidences of gun violence.

Instead of helping dispel the myths about video games and violence, these networks are bowing to the bs pressure and that only adds to the false narrative of the myth itself. Bravo @espn and @ABCNetwork for being part of the problem. Do we need these dinosaurs in gaming anyway? https://t.co/3NAKUyCmq4
— Scott Smith (@SirScoots) August 9, 2019

Disney/ABC postpones the broadcast of ESPN’s Apex tournament…though Disney’s FX has an all new season of American Horror Story coming out! A show that recently aired a mass shooting in a past season on TV. BIG YIKES. ???? pic.twitter.com/V5Cu1TLtqF
— Coach E (@evolve) August 9, 2019

ESPN pull #ApexLegends tournament due to recent shootings. Walmart also has decided to stop running violent video game ads.

Please people. Video games are not the cause. This solves nothing.
— DooM49???????? (@DooM49) August 9, 2019

ESPN pulls Apex Legends tournament broadcast after mass shootings in Texas and Ohio