David Bridges
Generally, when internet personalities are signed to an esports organization as a streamer, the community is pretty happy about it. Such was not the case when the Atlanta Reign signed Daniel “dafran” Francesca as a content creator.
The former Overwatch League player used to be on the Reign’s roster but retired and opted to become a full-time streamer and farmer. The Reign announced this morning the streamer is coming back to the team as their newest content creator and will stream under the brand, which ignited fury among fans.
Despite retiring in 2020, Dafran continued to garner attention on the internet for his lack of filter on his social media accounts, and resurfaced on social media for many fans of VALORANT and Overwatch because of how vocal he was about Jay “sinatraa” Won’s sexual assault allegations in 2021.
On social media, dafran consistently got attention for posting his opinions about sinatraa’s accuser, Cleo Hernandez, calling her a “crazy egirl” and calling her a liar. He eventually apologized for the comments, but the community found the apology rang hollow considering he tweeted his support for sinatraa after the VALORANT player announced he’d be looking to return to competitive play just a day earlier.
If you take a look at the quote tweets to the Reign’s announcement or in the comments, it’s hard to find a positive one. Fans are not happy with dafran’s signing, citing his many transgressions in the past, most of which include his comments toward the victim of sinatraa’s sexual assault allegation.
Many are also blasting the Reign on social media for making such a signing, with some calling them the “villains” of the OWL. Some fans have voiced their curiosity about how Kai Collins, a current member of the team, is handling the news, considering he is now dating Hernandez.
Kai hasn’t made any public statement yet about his feelings on the situation, but fans are speculating about what will happen if the two were to cross paths. Among the quote tweets and responses to Atlanta’s tweet announcing him are fans calling the org trash, asking why it decided to sign him after all he’s done, and calling attention to all of his bad behavior from the past.
As more negative attention comes to the Reign from social media, many fans are hoping the team goes back on the deal, but for now, it seems that dafran will be on Atlanta’s payroll going forward.
