NHL26: Philosophically Bankrupt

The final nail in the coffin is the rampant bigotry that festers in CHEL. Every match feels like stepping into a space where decency has no place, where the ugliest parts of America are left unchecked. I’m beyond tired of seeing racist blackface, slurs, and offensive team names paraded around. It's 2025. It’s not funny; it’s toxic. And the fact that it’s allowed to continue year after year makes it clear that neither EA nor Xbox takes their own community guidelines seriously.

These issues aren’t just isolated incidents.  they’re symptoms of a system that refuses to enforce accountability. Both EA and Xbox love to talk about “inclusion” and “respect” when promoting their platforms, but those words ring hollow when you log in and see the same hateful garbage that’s been reported dozens of times before. There’s no consistency, no follow-through, and no sign that the people responsible for moderating these spaces actually play the game or care about its community.

What’s worse is how this affects the players who just want to enjoy the game. When people are constantly exposed to racism, sexism, or homophobia in a supposedly social and competitive environment, it drives them away. It’s exhausting to spend your free time bracing for the next slur or hate symbol instead of focusing on the fun and teamwork the mode was supposed to represent. The silence from the developers sends a clear message — that this behavior is not only tolerated, it is accepted.

At this point, it’s not even about one bad apple or a few immature players. It’s about a culture of neglect. CHEL has a culture of bigotry and hate. EA and Xbox have the tools, the policies, and the data to clean this up, but they choose not to act. They could require stricter name moderation, automatic reporting for hate symbols, or real enforcement of bans — yet the problem persists because it’s easier to ignore than to fix.

I love hockey, and I’ve loved CHEL for years. But love doesn’t mean accepting a broke game full of hateful people. This is the last CHEL game I will play.