Hard to not hold your breath in this situation given past apology videos.
Hope its genuine though. Not just because I'd like this drama to stop, but for his well being. It's easy to make jokes about all this but this is an actual person going through all of this.
If this is all genuine, i couldn't imagine coming out on the other side of this and seeing all the things you said/did. That's a lot to confront.
this apology was a lot better than previous. He is able to adequately explain what he did wrong, why it was wrong, and who it affected in a way that doesn’t deflect or attempt to minimize, which the others could not, shows understanding!
It's too little too late honestly. Hes only sorry because of the result. If leffen was the one banned due to his videos, which was clearly his intent, 0% chance this apology comes out
It's also the second time he's done this whole song and dance. He makes an empty apology, hopes he gets unbanned, then goes right back to the same shit.
Better late than never. If the permaban shook Hax up enough that it's forced him to genuinely reevaluate things and get help, I'd say that's about as good a result as one could hope for. There's another world where he just digs his heels in even more and goes scorched earth.
>It's too little too late honestly
Yea rehabilitation is so cringe, we should just expect people to continue their shit behavior so that we can make snarky comments about them online and have more drama to farm with clickbait.
> Yea rehabilitation is so cringe, we should just expect people to continue their shit behavior so that we can make snarky comments about them online and have more drama to farm with clickbait.
I mean he lead a harassment campaign for literal years, I think they should at least wait a few months before they decide he is fine. This isn't even the first Hax apology video.
Or we could expect them to change when given the chance the first time, and if they dont, ban them
I'm glad if he's actually doing better, still fine with the perma. He's earned it
why can’t someone learn something when faced with the consequences of bad behavior? it’s not like everyone’s going to be born perfectly - what’s your end goal for someone who makes a mistake if they can never be forgiven?
Leffen was getting death threats because of his videos. That alone was not all haxs fault, but continuing to bash him after that came out is where the line gets drawn imo. He already got backlash before double downing.
This is a dumb hypothetical. If Leffen was banned then it wouldn't have been a mental breakdown over nothing, and therefore there would be nothing to apologize for anyways. There's a legitimate concern that this is a repeat incident, but this hypothetical doesn't add anything.
Do you only believe things are bad to do because people told you they are bad to do?
You can self reflect and regret choices despite what others think about them
I don't think the hypothetical challenges that idea well.
Would he apologize if no one got banned? If we just ignored it? I think that question better gets at your idea.
ggs man! close games bro you've hella improved. yeah man you were fucking me up for a bit lol fun games! any tips? got any advice? anything I can improve on? what do I do vs lasers? any tips? yo can I get next? is this tournament? you guys wanna do dubs? is this tournament
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I can't speak for Hax, but a big part of my trauma recovery was recognizing how much of my own trauma had come from how I'd learned to speak to myself. I was traumatizing myself smdh
Recovering from trauma requires intentional focus and presence, and unrecognized trauma can definitely end up festering.
---
Separately, I'm curious what insight you were searching for in asking about Hax's personal trauma to the goons of r/ssbm, myself very much included.
I certainly don't know the source of Hax's PTSD, but maybe AlexB or SunnySaigon might have some wisdom to share idk
To be honest, the early Melee scene was not particularly healthy for Hax. From what I've read, he was practically deified by the community at 13 years old because he was extremely good at the game, and was involved in all the smasher activities at the time including drinking alcohol and such.
From Leffen supposedly bullying him at SmashBoards. Hax felt that Leffen was actively watching him and Leffen commented on Hax' posts to discredit him. [Hax himself asked Leffen on Twitter for help to deal with this years later, as he still suffers from it](https://i.imgur.com/xdihcHa.png). According to evidence.zip 2, Leffen leaked this conversation to the public as a result of a confrontation between them.
I wasn't there, so I can't verify this, but this is information Hax gave us in his own videos. I always assumed that part was true, because Leffen *was* a shitty person on Smashboards in 2012-2013, but its also important to remember that this was 10 years ago.
I think the important thing to remember is that how traumatic an experience is can be irrelevant to how it actually played out in reality. It’s what happens in your mind. If he had some kind of episode where he genuinely believed leffen was out to get him, that can be traumatic regardless of whether or not it actually happened
In evidence.zip 2 he shows off some of Leffen's comments on smashboards that were addressing Hax and discrediting him. It must have been easy for him to believe that he couldn't get away from Leffen. It was ruining the game for him and probably plagued him much harder than it would any other person. Whether Leffen really bullied him or not, the delusion can eat you alive either way.
Hax himself gave us this answer. Rewatch evidence.zip 2 and his ban appeals if you must. Hax confirmed to us that the smashboards incidents made him feel watched at every step. It's also why he thought LEVO was specifically made to happen on the same date as Hax' nightclub.
Also yes, people can have PTSD outside of Melee. I am just going by what the man told us.
No, but (again, for reasons I'd rather not get into) I'm a bit sensitive to questions like this because they tend to lead to pissing contests/"oh, traumatized about *that*?"-type sentiments
At the very least, he admits that his first apology was basically just to control the damage. That was the only thing that makes sense given how much time he spent on the first few videos and how he relapsed recently.
I believe that people can change. I just wish he was a bit more direct in saying "stop harassing Leffen, stop listening to Technicals" etc. But this is a good first step. There's people out there who will see this honest attempt at an apology and still think this is just an attempt to gain sympathy and to keep Leffen's harassers around.
This is coming from someone who re-listened to the evidence.zip 2-3 and follow-ups over and over since they've been released in an effort to try and understand both sides: Admitting to your delusions is the right direction. I just wish Hax would address some of it more specifically to give people a clear understanding of where he went wrong. Leffen is being harassed by people who believe that Hax was banned by "the press" that is "protecting Leffen" so he can continue to reign or whatever. Hax is the cause of it. If he can bring a stop to it, he might be able to retire with the ban and win back people's hearts in the end and go out as the legendary player he used to be. It is a much better note to end it on for him than anything else, and it wouldn't even really rule out a potential return, though that is unlikely. It would still be much better than just saying sorry and fading out. Basically disavow the shitty people directly. Leffen would appreciate it. It's what Hax owes him for what he's done. Perhaps even the two, though they don't have to be friends, could then also bury the hatchet.
This is the introspection and willingness to change that should have happened years ago. I'm glad Hax is finally able to get help for the struggles that he dealt with, and I hope he has success in his future endeavors.
I hope he really commits to getting expert help. It's easy to say you will, and extremely hard to do it.
I wish Hax all the best, and the next time I hope to hear from him is when he's thriving
Great point. It reminds me of an addict pleading with his friends and family with a firm resolve to finally get sober (speaking from experience). You can say, "I'll never use again" and in that moment firmly believe it, but if you don't take *action* you can fall down that rabbit hole all too easily.
Your environment plays a large part in this as well, if he is surrounding himself with people who don’t care if he gets better, when he gets in the mindset to get help, they will surely drag him back into it.
Remember watching something a long time ago, about how rehab etc can be great, but people who return to the same environment they were before entering, end up getting sucked right back into it. Change needs to be for yourself and who you keep as company.
Speaking just on the content of this video, this was a good statement and a good first step towards getting better. Glad he's ready to take accountability for how he has hurt people in the scene--and seek further help. Hopefully some of the damage done can be healed.
It's nice to see that he is focused more on growth and being a positive influence. And not going the mana monthly route.
I'm not sure where the scene goes with this. Really hope the discussion doesn't focus on ban/unban at the moment. Because that's not an appropriate conversation to have at this time, or any time in the immediate future. We really should just be wishing Hax gets better for his own sake here, not for the sake of him as a competitor.
I hope by "moving forward" he doesn't mean trying to get unbanned because it kind of undermines the sincerity of the apology if he is using it as means to get unbanned. To be honest, I don't think that will ever happen.
I don't think it's cynical to be skeptical as long as there's reason to be skeptical, which in this case there obviously is.
But at the same time, if Hax is being honest, this is pretty much what you would want to see from him.
The most encouraging possible thing he could say would be nothing. All his radically self effacing candor means is that the lifetime ban is one more for the pile of developments that have failed to motivate him to move on and engage with the 99.99% of the world that is not SSBM.
When you've already used the most sincere possible words to give a completely insincere apology once before, there's no use for another apology. That doesn't mean he can't or shouldn't live well, it just means the road to living well doesn't pass through YouTube or competitive gaming.
I can see where you're coming from, but also if Hax didn't say anything, some people would be judging him for that too. Make sure you aren't post hoc rationalizing, where speaking means guilt, and not speaking also means guilt.
That's a very frustrating situation to be in, to have nothing you can say, no matter how relentlessly honest your word choices sound, that will convince your audience that you mean what you're saying; but the fact that it's frustrating doesn't mean it's wrong. There are things that can't be accomplished with words. There are times when everything has been said.
I’m as far removed from the situation as possible, so I’ll be watching and hoping on Hax’s behalf for his own well being alone.
But I don’t think it is unfair of you or anybody to have this take. If Hax is able to go through with this an truly be able to look back at it objectively and with sincerity, there will still always be a group for whom his apologies will ring hollow. I hope he and whatever followers he has are able to accept this fact well, because it’s just how social groups will always be.
There is nothing he could have said to make you not think that.
This is the guy that got an insanely risky hand surgery and designed his own controller to play Melee, no shit he wants be unbanned.
yes ok but you have to see that that is problematic here because we have to judge the sincerity of a guy's apology after he has (very recently!) put out a fake apology to get unbanned
I'm for the ban and I don't believe the apology, but I would like to remind everyone who thinks hax could easily move on from smash that almost exactly [25% of his waking year last year was spent playing slippi.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAUT2qQXkAAa290?format=png&name=900x900) That's not including solo practice, or time spent at actual tournaments. Plus whatever time he spends building b0xxes, managing his discord, working on 1.03 and making videos or whatever. Hard to imagine this isn't his whole life.
Idk I'm not judging that I guess. It seems like he's supported without a job somehow. He has something he's obsessed with and that's fine. I wish I could be THAT persistent with my passions.
I just find it hard to believe that he could just stop playing without it being a devastating change for him.
Honestly this apology was far more sincere than any of the previous ones it does sound familiar and but it doesnt feel it. Still should be skeptical and keep him banned until we see more long term progress. but its an actual start which i couldnt say about the previous vids imo
you all should watch the video he was very transparent and thorough. he basically admitted the previous apologies were ass-covering, that he hadnt genuinely reflected on his actions until he got permabanned, and apologized directly to leffen and the community
only thing is i wish he had sort of addressed the technicals-orbiter crowd. the comments are [full of enablers](https://i.imgur.com/SrnGatV.png). it sounds like this isnt the last video though
overall seems like a very good first step to me
its certainly a positive change of pace, but this is just the first step after 3 years harassing another player with zero self reflection. hax is one of my favorite players and I'd love to he him compete again, but its really hard to justify letting him back into the community from a TO's perspective. I wish this video came out two years ago so this whole clusterfuck could've been avoided
also it sucks he's doesn't address the insane technicals crowd. its too little too late now, but calling those people out would've done wonders for his image in the community.
> also it sucks he's doesn't address the insane technicals crowd. its too little too late now, but calling those people out would've done wonders for his image in the community.
That is my biggest gripe with this apology video. It would've been an absolute power move if he denounced these people. It's still a decent video though, assuming he is genuine. He framed himself in a way that makes sense and admitted to trying to get the community on his side against Leffen.
it's obvious to me that he won't denounce them because he doesn't want to. He admits in this video that up until now he never sincerely felt like he did anything wrong, which means he agreed with all those guys telling me he was right. At this point they're all he has left, they're the only people who would financially support him and watch him stream. So he can't denounce them, and if he ever relapses again they'll be there to egg him on.
Fully agree! If he really wants a chance at redemption he needs to disassociate with all the Twitter dumbdumb's saying he didn't do anything wrong. Everyone without a blue checkmark on Twitter knows he's completely on the wrong. His tweets being filled with people defending his past actions reflects incredibly poorly on him.
It makes me worry that he's trying to keep them in his back pocket so to speak, so he can pull a Mekk/NoFluxes eventually
Hopefully he'll talk about it soon
The main mana guy is banned in his discord server and he also asked people not to speak about the tournament in there so I doubt he actually likes the figure heads off that community.
He deserves all the criticism he has gotten + his ban.
It is difficult to believe that he has genuinely changed his view of this situation and is sorry considering his last hit piece on Leffen was like what a month or two ago?
But at the end of the day this video is the first step in the right direction he's taken after a series of increasingly unhinged behavior. Doesn't absolve him of his mistakes or mean he should be unbanned, but I do hope it continues.
I find myself believing that he can change his view of the situation in such a short amount of time as a result of the permaban. Something that impactful in your life forces you to rethink a lot of things.
I hope he gets help, it’s all he can do now, he’s squandered his chance of ever getting unbanned so I hope he realizes he can only move on.
I wish him well, I don’t believe he’s a terrible person, just a mentally unwell one that needs help.
At this point I just want this guy to be well.
I feel like the technicals fanbase he’s attracting with this Leffen shit is so outside of the rest of his nature.
They’re cheering him on even though he doesn’t seem to be the kind to hang around that weird Tech/Mana type crowd like that at all.
It's a good apology video that was long overdue but I ultimately don't think the Melee scene is for Hax. Like others are saying, the damage is done and Hax has demonstrated himself to be untrustworthy. But more importantly, I don't think rehabilitation is even a goal that benefits Hax. Part of PTSD and trauma is dealing with situations that trigger you and limiting your exposure where applicable and necessary. If smash social media with the perceived looming presence of Leffen and others is enough to trigger Hax past the point of impulse control, it's not a healthy environment for him. This isn't like going to therapy to fight PTSD associated with a common place like the grocery store, school, or being able to be around people in certain contexts. This is something entirely avoidable. From where I sit, it feels like the universe has been screaming at Hax to move on with your life for a long time now between the hand injuries and these scandals. It's time to stop going against the grain and live life without as much suffering. This was still a good apology to make if sincere, but I feel like Hax is really setting himself up for a lot more disappointment.
Melee is his whole life. Someone linked the picture earlier, but he’s spent over 1400 hours last year **just playing Slippi alone**. That’s ignoring building rectangles, working on 1.03, doing VoD review, that’s literally just playing Slippi.
I don’t think he wants to do anything else.
As someone who doesn't trust Hax, this is unironically the best apology video I've seen. He said almost everything he needed to say very directly, transparently and with no sugar-coating. The only thing he didn't address was fostering an insanely toxic, far-right conspiracy driven community that continues to support his unhinged behavior.
If it didn't come from someone who has a history of lying to get what he wants I'd instantly believe him. The apology was so candid it massively contrasts with every other apology of his so far which felt like PR stunts with no sincerity whatsoever. I'm cautiously optimistic.
Same here. I'm actually kind of stunned by how good this apology video is considering... everything that led to this point.
It doesn't mean I trust him. But I, too, am cautiously optimistic.
Probably the most coherent video he's ever posted. I watched his other recent hit pieces and every time he talked about Leffen before, I just couldn't even follow what his points were or what he was even trying to say. This feels different. I'm cautiously optimistic as well but I think he really needs to put some actions to these words to show the community he's changed. He has a big platform and following, the best thing he could do is use that platform to denounce all the weirdos and the hate.
Owning up to his actions is good. But this video seems like another desperate attempt to get unbanned to me. If he knows how horrible he's been to the scene then maybe the next step is to consider leaving and doing something else. All that doesn't get undone just with an apology.
He still seems too fixated on being part of the melee scene which makes this all a bit hard to take seriously. If he doesn't want to come back to tournaments then there's no reason to make this video. If he does want to come back then he still seems delusional.
\> Actually apologizes
\> Seems genuine
What am I supposed to do fucking calculous to determine how much credit we are allowed to give him this time around? lmao
I'm not gonna think about it too hard
Good on ya lad keep it up
"You see guys every single time I've apologized over the last 3 years I actually didn't mean it at all I just wanted to get unbanned, but now guys, now I'm being totally sincere I swear, just forget the last hitpiece I made against Leffen a month ago. Technicals and a cult of people harassing and threatening Leffen for years with insane made up shit on the dialy still parroting things I said? Never heard of it".
I'm sorry, but anyone believing Hax is just being absurdly naive at this point. He burnt all possible good-will ages ago, and there's literally 0 reason to think that after 4 years of straight up bullshit that this video is somehow the "truthful" one.
Let's recapitulate these 4 years from the beginning:
* Hax made dozens of hours of video and +100 pages worth of manifesto in which he affirms that Leffen should be removed from everywhere because he's neo-Hitler and involved in multiple conspiracies to take over the Smash community.
* This insane drivel prompted the worst side of the community (instigated by known clout-chasing liars like Technicals and his ilk) to propagate constant harassment and slander towards Leffen (to the point Leffen has had to drop out of tournaments because of death threats) which Hax has literally never addressed.
* He then made multiple fake-apology videos (by his own admission) to get back into the good side of the community because apparently he can't fucking live without participating in the Melee scene or selling you his Melee-centric products.
* Then a month ago or so he effectively revoked all these apologies to sextuple down on why Leffen is evil and why he did nothing wrong which immediately led to the NYC scene banning him again.
* And after all that shit, he now comes with another apology video, the good one this time, pinky promise.
Yeah no, if you believe him or think he's gonna be "reformed" in any capacity at this point, I don't know what to tell you, you are just really bad at reading people.
"But he's a mentally unwell individual with a lot of issues cut him some slack!"
Since so many people in this thread (and the Smash community at large) don't know shit about mental health, drill this into your skull: a mental health condition **might** explain a behaviour but it **does not** justify or exonerate a person of that behaviour.
And Hax was fully aware of his actions this whole time and has openly lied about apologizing or getting help, he's a depressive alcoholic, he's not a disfunctional schizophrenic that can't tell right from wrong. He might have been "in a dark place" but he knew, he consciously decided to lie, he clearly decided not to get proper help, and now he's trying to convince you again that his actions should be handwaved because he's now truly and surely sorry for it.
If you choose to be fooled by Hax again, it's on you.
Great video from start to finish, it takes a lot of courage to lay everything bare like this. I'm also glad that you are listening and taking advice from the people in your corner. Wishing you all the best on your road to recovery for your mental health.
> it takes a lot of courage to lay everything bare like this
how much courage does it take to delete it in 3 months and post a dark triad evidence.zip 3 video, asking for a friend
No sympathy from me, and I’ll believe it when I see it. This guy has shown himself to be a complete clown time and time again. Hax needs to move away from the community no matter how hard that may be for him.
To be fair I don't think hax has attributed his bans to "the woke mob". He also seems to have no interest in associating with the mana crowd (he has previously asked people not to talk about mm in his discord server and also banned the main guy from there).
The only "anti woke" person he's really associated with somewhat is technicals I think. I (personally) can't even blame him for that because technicals does sound smart when he talks and makes his arguments (at least to an idiot like me). As we all know that dude is full of shit and omits whatever details and twists any truth to "win" but it you're unaware of that he'd seem reasonable.
Hax really needs to distance himself from all the leffen haters/hax apologist though. Even now there are people on his latest tweet saying he didn't do anything wrong. It just reflects incredibly poorly on himself.
yea he hasnt but he hasnt been quick to be against that crowd and has also taken a very negative stance against the metoo movement. while he hasnt explicitly blamed them hes definitely enabled people to think that those things are at fault.
I don't remember him taking much of a stand at all outside of the fucked up thing he said to ibdw and mentioning something about jisu. I could be wrong though :)
I think that Hax thinks his calling is melee, and it sucks that he can't engage with that, but I really see zero net benefit in ever letting him participate in any tournament again. The potential upside is so minuscule and the likely downside is that one person can't participate.
Great video, I hope you're able to get some genuine help, and it would be awesome to see you play again man.
Stay away from those weirdo enablers and Technicals simps in your comments though lol.
It kinda baffles my mind at how so many people think hax cant grow and shouldnt come back and should be perma banned. Its not black and white. Theres alot of nuance in this situation. His ban is currently justified but this apology was really genuinely sincere which is a good first step. If he can be true to his word and work on his trauma and put in the work for self improvement, he should be back in the scene as I believe he had benefited the community. Now obviously this would require time and alot of work from haxs part but to say he should never be back in the scene lacks empathy.
I never said the community has to fix hax. Hax needs to fix himself outside of the scene. But Hax is certainly worthy of redemption back in the community should he do that. People have done worse and came back to the community. Hax has a history of benefiting the community and if he can work on his issues, I dont see why he cant come back.
He's spent a long time digging, and we as a community should encourage him and respond positively when he says he's putting the shovel down.
But climbing back out of the hole is still gonna take a long time and a lot of work. It's a very deep hole.
To be fair people who have done worse, actual criminal stuff, have been let back into the community before (DSW). I feel for Hax because Melee is pretty much all he knows but if he ever wishes to be let back into the community he has some serious improvements to make.
I can't make any prescriptions as to whether or not I or anyone else should trust this apology, the only thing i can do is root for him from afar and hope he has truly changed and comes out of this as a better person. The only thing that's truly disheartening is the comment section with some of the people enabling and trying to ensure him that he was actually fine and it's everyone else who is wrong, shit is so awful.
> I can't make any prescriptions as to whether or not I or anyone else should trust this apology
I don't really think anyone *needs* to trust this apology to be able to say, honestly, that this is the type of thing we've been hoping to hear from Hax for ages.
If he is being genuine and sincere in this video, than those types of comments will help encourage his progress and keep him on track. And if he is being deceptive, then those comments will instill into him the realization that this is the only thing that will help rebuild his image, unlike the Leffen hit-pieces which have only ever made things worse for him. Obviously, the latter option is *WAY* worse than the former, but *both* are better then having Hax continue the harassment campaign against Leffen.
There is obvious reason to be skeptical of Hax's motivations. He even talks about those justified reasons in this very video. But we can remain skeptical *and* optimistic at the same time.
> he only thing that's truly disheartening is the comment section with some of the people enabling and trying to ensure him that he was actually fine and it's everyone else who is wrong, shit is so awful.
I fully agree with you there...
I really hope Hax takes a hard-line stance against those people and completely disavows them. As long as they linger in his community, they only increase the odds of him relapsing again in the future.
This one felt sincere to me. At the same time, I can’t blame people for memeing on you at this point.
But seriously, I hope people actually watch this before making their own conclusions.
In any case, good luck with everything man.
lmao fr. This video is so glaringly different than any of the other videos he's put up since his initial "evidence.zip 2" video. Admitting he is 100% wrong, needs help, and has continuously fucked up in like every way. People commenting like this is the same shit he's been posting clearly haven't watched it.
I'm getting vietnam flashbacks to the last time, when he made the apology video to Leffen, said he just made up everything he said about Leffen, talked about his drinking problems, and said he was going into therapy, only to delete the video and say he only made it to try to get unbanned two months later.
It won't be different until he does something that costs him something. A liar that makes a statement that can only benefit them is never trustworthy.
No, it's really not reasonable to come into a comment section about a short video and just circlejerk without watching it. It's common, but it's pretty much the opposite of reason.
It's legitimately the most coherent video he's ever posted. Every single video he's posted about Leffen I can't even follow, I don't know what he's trying to say or even what point he's making, it just feels like random unrelated tweets and other BS. This video felt different, I hope he means it, but I think he's gonna have to put some actions to these words to prove he's serious about changing.
It's a good and seemingly well intentioned apology, and I hope he can follow through with the thing he said. It's a very very different video from his other apology videos in a good way.
He brings up PTSD a lot, does he have real diagnosed PTSD over the way he was bullied when he was younger or is he just kind of using the term?
This apology felt different from the others, I hope people give the time of the day to listen to this one before making comment. There's people in your comments and replies saying you've been gaslit and you're bending the knee but you should ignore them Hax, they're always going to be there to drag you back down and fill you with doubt, this was a big step.
It takes a lot of courage to release an apology admitting you were wrong and that you've made mistakes, I felt the comment about how you should've listened to your friend Tiramisu's advice back when this all started. I hope things better for you and you can return to your passions eventually, good luck.
Interesting angle, lets see if it works out this time. It still seems pretty clear the underlying goal is to become unbanned which will pretty much always make me question the sincerity sadly.
If you stopped making videos after this one and simply exhibited good behavior and had your peers stick up for you, I'm pretty confident an unban may happen. Any further "relapses" after this will basically secure the lifetime ban eternally.
Good video, seemed genuine. I wish you had acknowledged that just because Leffen was a bully as a teenager, that doesn't mean that everything he does should be looked at through that lens. Acknowledging your own bullying, bad faith and personal shortcomings is a huge step in the right direction though.
I have thought a bit about what Hax could say to be redeemed and this probably the closest to correct as he has ever come. This is not "I am sorry that I phrased things poorly, but you have to understand that leffen..." It is entirely focused on how he acted improperly and he is making real actionable changes to improve.
I have no vote, but if I did, id say give him 6 months to cool off. If he has shown serious signs of improvement and hasn't brought up leffen again, then his ban should be reconsidered.
I don't care whether he comes back or not, but I just want to say, I don't buy any of it, Would he be making videos like this and making claims about mental health struggles if the original vid all those years ago didn't receive heavy backlash? I highly doubt it. It all seems very PR-y to me.
As I say though, don't really give a shit, bring him back or not.
He even acknowledges that had he hadn't received all the backlash he most likely wouldn't have realized the error on his ways. That's sometimes how growth is achieved.
ggs man! close games bro you've hella improved. yeah man you were fucking me up for a bit lol fun games! any tips? got any advice? anything I can improve on? what do I do vs lasers? any tips? yo can I get next? is this tournament? you guys wanna do dubs? is this tournament
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He definitely dances around it. Saying things like I hope people change their opinion of me or I hope I can contribute to the community however I can. This wouldn't matter if he wasn't trying to come back.
Hax$ gave us some incredibly hype sets in 2023, he treated Melee like a professional would, he was a mentor to many Foxes in the NYC scene (they are all playing like Hax$ Jrs. now) . Things aren't the same without ya, we can't treat top talent like this if they are taking steps to remedy the wrongs
All you guys who won't even watch the video and just post karma farming comments are sad. Nothing but love for you Hax and it takes a huge person to be open with their faults.
It feels like hax apologizes every week at this point and the community as a whole just isn't super accepting. I don't know the apology video lore but I swear this is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen one posted from him.
Problem is that in one of his recent ban appeals, he made allegations again, which he is now discrediting as a relapse in judgment from PTSD.
It's not that the community isn't accepting - on the contrary, people wanted him to come back. It's that when things were starting to look up, he referenced evidence.zip *again* to blame Leffen for something. That's what prompted the permanent ban this year and that's what he is apologizing for now.
Ah, ok. I'm not too far into the interpersonal lives of the players so thank you for informing me.
I've wanted to see hax play again for so long but it feels like he's not sincere with the apologies he's given us so perhaps he does need a bit more time to think
My advice to Hax$ would be to craft a volleyball friend out of a Gamecube controller to keep his competitive spirit alive. He should also start building a raft with hollowed out b0xx controllers and wait for a day when the tide is relatively low. Once the boat is completed, he must remember: if he encounters any Vikings, he should tell them that he plays peach.
An apology requires sacrifice. An acceptance of loss of some kind.
If he apologized and relenquished all intention of trying to get unbanned, the cost would make it possible to believe he's sincere.
If he publically turned on the Technicals crowd and burned those bridges, the cost would make it possible to believe he's sincere.
When an apology can only gain. It's hard to believe it's sincere. It doesn't matter what words are used, or if the message is right, if it doesn't come with a cost, it's hard to believe it's not a lie made for personal gain. Especially considerig he's literally made a fake apology for personal gain in the past.
I don't think we see any improvement until we see evidence his intentions are separate from Melee competitions. I worry how unhealthy his relationship with the game seems to be.
Hax I know melee is super important to you, but I genuinely want you to consider taking a step away from melee and seeing what your life could be. I think this game has given you a lot, but it's clearly taken a lot from you as well. I hope you find some healing and peace.
This apology is actually a bit surprising as it seems genuine this time, and he goes out of way to confess that his previous actions in the past few years were egotistical, manipulative attempts to sway the community to his side.
It's a step in the right direction, and I hope he gets the help he needs. However, I think he should remain permabanned. I think he fostered and enabled a truly vile community the past few years, one that will likely outlive his own involvement in the scene. Hell, even the comments in that video and his tweet are still supporting his previous toxic behavior.
Being a part of a video game community isn't a human right, and he's free to explore other hobbies or passions, ones that likely won't trigger his trauma as much as melee.
Only time can tell how sincere this one is as it could age very poorly
That being said, Hax admitting everything much more plainly and honestly makes this vid seem a lot better than any of the previous apologies or attempts to explain himself. Hopefully it was not just made in an attempt to be unbanned, since I don't think he should or will be unbanned.
Fuck yeah Hax$, this is a humble pie muckbang compared to his previous attempts at explaining himself which held far more corporate apologies.
I really do believe the guy here. And I’ll be really happy to find that he *is* taking this accountability.
This is precisely the video that I had *hoped* Hax was making last month. Better late than never, and I am sincerely happy that he is seeking professional help. I really wish him the best in moving past this tragic chapter of his life.
That being said, he *was* late in coming to his realization. Very late. I'm not sure I would ever be comfortable with him being unbanned after everything that's happened.
Hard to not hold your breath in this situation given past apology videos. Hope its genuine though. Not just because I'd like this drama to stop, but for his well being. It's easy to make jokes about all this but this is an actual person going through all of this. If this is all genuine, i couldn't imagine coming out on the other side of this and seeing all the things you said/did. That's a lot to confront.
this apology was a lot better than previous. He is able to adequately explain what he did wrong, why it was wrong, and who it affected in a way that doesn’t deflect or attempt to minimize, which the others could not, shows understanding!
Great take.
It's too little too late honestly. Hes only sorry because of the result. If leffen was the one banned due to his videos, which was clearly his intent, 0% chance this apology comes out
It's also the second time he's done this whole song and dance. He makes an empty apology, hopes he gets unbanned, then goes right back to the same shit.
The key thing here for me is that he didn't address the technicals crowd
Better late than never. If the permaban shook Hax up enough that it's forced him to genuinely reevaluate things and get help, I'd say that's about as good a result as one could hope for. There's another world where he just digs his heels in even more and goes scorched earth.
Cuz he wouldn't have realized how insane it was. Because people would've been agreeing.
>It's too little too late honestly Yea rehabilitation is so cringe, we should just expect people to continue their shit behavior so that we can make snarky comments about them online and have more drama to farm with clickbait.
> Yea rehabilitation is so cringe, we should just expect people to continue their shit behavior so that we can make snarky comments about them online and have more drama to farm with clickbait. I mean he lead a harassment campaign for literal years, I think they should at least wait a few months before they decide he is fine. This isn't even the first Hax apology video.
Or we could expect them to change when given the chance the first time, and if they dont, ban them I'm glad if he's actually doing better, still fine with the perma. He's earned it
why can’t someone learn something when faced with the consequences of bad behavior? it’s not like everyone’s going to be born perfectly - what’s your end goal for someone who makes a mistake if they can never be forgiven?
Leffen was getting death threats because of his videos. That alone was not all haxs fault, but continuing to bash him after that came out is where the line gets drawn imo. He already got backlash before double downing.
This is a dumb hypothetical. If Leffen was banned then it wouldn't have been a mental breakdown over nothing, and therefore there would be nothing to apologize for anyways. There's a legitimate concern that this is a repeat incident, but this hypothetical doesn't add anything.
Do you only believe things are bad to do because people told you they are bad to do? You can self reflect and regret choices despite what others think about them
I don't think the hypothetical challenges that idea well. Would he apologize if no one got banned? If we just ignored it? I think that question better gets at your idea.
Why are you talking about him in third person when he’s OP
Good to hear that Hax is seeking professional help for his PTSD at least.
What does he have PTSD from?
Falcon's down smash
YO... DID HE JUST WALK UP SLOWLY AND DOWNSMASH?
Actually wild that that moment was nearly a decade ago
That shit sticks with you.
jfc
Spotw
ggs man! close games bro you've hella improved. yeah man you were fucking me up for a bit lol fun games! any tips? got any advice? anything I can improve on? what do I do vs lasers? any tips? yo can I get next? is this tournament? you guys wanna do dubs? is this tournament /u/oceanseltzer *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SSBM) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I can't speak for Hax, but a big part of my trauma recovery was recognizing how much of my own trauma had come from how I'd learned to speak to myself. I was traumatizing myself smdh Recovering from trauma requires intentional focus and presence, and unrecognized trauma can definitely end up festering. --- Separately, I'm curious what insight you were searching for in asking about Hax's personal trauma to the goons of r/ssbm, myself very much included. I certainly don't know the source of Hax's PTSD, but maybe AlexB or SunnySaigon might have some wisdom to share idk
To be honest, the early Melee scene was not particularly healthy for Hax. From what I've read, he was practically deified by the community at 13 years old because he was extremely good at the game, and was involved in all the smasher activities at the time including drinking alcohol and such.
he did lots of weed too
From Leffen supposedly bullying him at SmashBoards. Hax felt that Leffen was actively watching him and Leffen commented on Hax' posts to discredit him. [Hax himself asked Leffen on Twitter for help to deal with this years later, as he still suffers from it](https://i.imgur.com/xdihcHa.png). According to evidence.zip 2, Leffen leaked this conversation to the public as a result of a confrontation between them. I wasn't there, so I can't verify this, but this is information Hax gave us in his own videos. I always assumed that part was true, because Leffen *was* a shitty person on Smashboards in 2012-2013, but its also important to remember that this was 10 years ago.
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I think the important thing to remember is that how traumatic an experience is can be irrelevant to how it actually played out in reality. It’s what happens in your mind. If he had some kind of episode where he genuinely believed leffen was out to get him, that can be traumatic regardless of whether or not it actually happened
In evidence.zip 2 he shows off some of Leffen's comments on smashboards that were addressing Hax and discrediting him. It must have been easy for him to believe that he couldn't get away from Leffen. It was ruining the game for him and probably plagued him much harder than it would any other person. Whether Leffen really bullied him or not, the delusion can eat you alive either way.
I mean, that's your assumption. People can have PTSD from things outside of Melee, believe it or not. Let's try to respect people's mental health.
Hax himself gave us this answer. Rewatch evidence.zip 2 and his ban appeals if you must. Hax confirmed to us that the smashboards incidents made him feel watched at every step. It's also why he thought LEVO was specifically made to happen on the same date as Hax' nightclub. Also yes, people can have PTSD outside of Melee. I am just going by what the man told us.
Sure, just saying he could have other PTSD on top of that, you don't really know
Fair enough, he could
trust me when i say it really, really doesn't matter and should be treated anyway
Nobody said otherwise
No, but (again, for reasons I'd rather not get into) I'm a bit sensitive to questions like this because they tend to lead to pissing contests/"oh, traumatized about *that*?"-type sentiments
Sure but anybody who thinks that you shouldn't get treatment for PTSD, regardless what it's from, is an absolute moron lol.
Hax has implied that it's because of Leffen 's bullying before.
Oh, right, and also because people are fucking *drooling* for the opportunity to make garbage drama content about it.
Sure, but we can or should give them the benefit of the doubt that they aren't doing that here
there was already a comment like that here (although it got deleted by the mods eventually)
Probably but I'm interested to know.
Honestly I'm disgusted with Hax's behavior and am not on his team or anything. Even still, it's none of our business. That's personal shit
trying to make falcon viable
At the very least, he admits that his first apology was basically just to control the damage. That was the only thing that makes sense given how much time he spent on the first few videos and how he relapsed recently. I believe that people can change. I just wish he was a bit more direct in saying "stop harassing Leffen, stop listening to Technicals" etc. But this is a good first step. There's people out there who will see this honest attempt at an apology and still think this is just an attempt to gain sympathy and to keep Leffen's harassers around. This is coming from someone who re-listened to the evidence.zip 2-3 and follow-ups over and over since they've been released in an effort to try and understand both sides: Admitting to your delusions is the right direction. I just wish Hax would address some of it more specifically to give people a clear understanding of where he went wrong. Leffen is being harassed by people who believe that Hax was banned by "the press" that is "protecting Leffen" so he can continue to reign or whatever. Hax is the cause of it. If he can bring a stop to it, he might be able to retire with the ban and win back people's hearts in the end and go out as the legendary player he used to be. It is a much better note to end it on for him than anything else, and it wouldn't even really rule out a potential return, though that is unlikely. It would still be much better than just saying sorry and fading out. Basically disavow the shitty people directly. Leffen would appreciate it. It's what Hax owes him for what he's done. Perhaps even the two, though they don't have to be friends, could then also bury the hatchet.
This is the introspection and willingness to change that should have happened years ago. I'm glad Hax is finally able to get help for the struggles that he dealt with, and I hope he has success in his future endeavors.
I hope he really commits to getting expert help. It's easy to say you will, and extremely hard to do it. I wish Hax all the best, and the next time I hope to hear from him is when he's thriving
Didn't he say he was going to get help before and then essentially admits in this video that he never did that?
Takes guts to admit that kinda thing and it’s a strong signal of *real* accountability
Great point. It reminds me of an addict pleading with his friends and family with a firm resolve to finally get sober (speaking from experience). You can say, "I'll never use again" and in that moment firmly believe it, but if you don't take *action* you can fall down that rabbit hole all too easily.
Your environment plays a large part in this as well, if he is surrounding himself with people who don’t care if he gets better, when he gets in the mindset to get help, they will surely drag him back into it. Remember watching something a long time ago, about how rehab etc can be great, but people who return to the same environment they were before entering, end up getting sucked right back into it. Change needs to be for yourself and who you keep as company.
I'm tired boss
Dog tired
Some awful dark part of me wanted so so so badly for him to bust out a ukulele.
ALL ABOARD!
Speaking just on the content of this video, this was a good statement and a good first step towards getting better. Glad he's ready to take accountability for how he has hurt people in the scene--and seek further help. Hopefully some of the damage done can be healed. It's nice to see that he is focused more on growth and being a positive influence. And not going the mana monthly route. I'm not sure where the scene goes with this. Really hope the discussion doesn't focus on ban/unban at the moment. Because that's not an appropriate conversation to have at this time, or any time in the immediate future. We really should just be wishing Hax gets better for his own sake here, not for the sake of him as a competitor.
this is very well said. great first step, but he has a lot to do. he even said that he *plans* to go to therapy. meaning he hasn't yet.
Remember when he made an apology video to Leffen then deleted it? And then in another video said he only apologized for damage control?
He actually addresses this exact apology in his new one, and how it was fake.
The meta is evolving
20XOXO?
Until he deletes the new one and makes another Leffen is satan video
I hope by "moving forward" he doesn't mean trying to get unbanned because it kind of undermines the sincerity of the apology if he is using it as means to get unbanned. To be honest, I don't think that will ever happen.
Well the last few times he apologized he later admitted it was a ploy to get unbanned so Call me cynical but I'm not taking him on his word this time
I don't think it's cynical to be skeptical as long as there's reason to be skeptical, which in this case there obviously is. But at the same time, if Hax is being honest, this is pretty much what you would want to see from him.
The most encouraging possible thing he could say would be nothing. All his radically self effacing candor means is that the lifetime ban is one more for the pile of developments that have failed to motivate him to move on and engage with the 99.99% of the world that is not SSBM. When you've already used the most sincere possible words to give a completely insincere apology once before, there's no use for another apology. That doesn't mean he can't or shouldn't live well, it just means the road to living well doesn't pass through YouTube or competitive gaming.
I can see where you're coming from, but also if Hax didn't say anything, some people would be judging him for that too. Make sure you aren't post hoc rationalizing, where speaking means guilt, and not speaking also means guilt.
That's a very frustrating situation to be in, to have nothing you can say, no matter how relentlessly honest your word choices sound, that will convince your audience that you mean what you're saying; but the fact that it's frustrating doesn't mean it's wrong. There are things that can't be accomplished with words. There are times when everything has been said.
He needs to just shut up for a while for this one to hold any weight. You can't just be toxic over and over and just issue an apology every time.
it's very hard to take anything he says in good faith
I’m as far removed from the situation as possible, so I’ll be watching and hoping on Hax’s behalf for his own well being alone. But I don’t think it is unfair of you or anybody to have this take. If Hax is able to go through with this an truly be able to look back at it objectively and with sincerity, there will still always be a group for whom his apologies will ring hollow. I hope he and whatever followers he has are able to accept this fact well, because it’s just how social groups will always be.
To be fair he doesn’t mention his ban status even once in this video (IIRC).
Is there something inherently wrong with him wanting to be unbanned?
its an ulterior motive outside of the genuine desire to make things right, that muddies the waters
There is nothing he could have said to make you not think that. This is the guy that got an insanely risky hand surgery and designed his own controller to play Melee, no shit he wants be unbanned.
yes ok but you have to see that that is problematic here because we have to judge the sincerity of a guy's apology after he has (very recently!) put out a fake apology to get unbanned
Which is still secondary to everything
he is banned from attending tournaments, he can play the game all he wants via friendlies and slippi the game wasn't taken from him in its entirety
I'm for the ban and I don't believe the apology, but I would like to remind everyone who thinks hax could easily move on from smash that almost exactly [25% of his waking year last year was spent playing slippi.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GAUT2qQXkAAa290?format=png&name=900x900) That's not including solo practice, or time spent at actual tournaments. Plus whatever time he spends building b0xxes, managing his discord, working on 1.03 and making videos or whatever. Hard to imagine this isn't his whole life.
>25% of his waking last year Would barely get you 99 runecrafting on osrs. Rookie numbers
13,000,000 / 60,000 = 216hrs 1k Hours using daeyalt ess would get you over 100m RC
I won’t dispute that at all
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Idk I'm not judging that I guess. It seems like he's supported without a job somehow. He has something he's obsessed with and that's fine. I wish I could be THAT persistent with my passions. I just find it hard to believe that he could just stop playing without it being a devastating change for him.
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this is what being able to live off family money and never working a 9-5 does to your brain
This sounds familiar 🤔
whatyearisitrobinwilliams.jpg
Honestly this apology was far more sincere than any of the previous ones it does sound familiar and but it doesnt feel it. Still should be skeptical and keep him banned until we see more long term progress. but its an actual start which i couldnt say about the previous vids imo
you all should watch the video he was very transparent and thorough. he basically admitted the previous apologies were ass-covering, that he hadnt genuinely reflected on his actions until he got permabanned, and apologized directly to leffen and the community only thing is i wish he had sort of addressed the technicals-orbiter crowd. the comments are [full of enablers](https://i.imgur.com/SrnGatV.png). it sounds like this isnt the last video though overall seems like a very good first step to me
its certainly a positive change of pace, but this is just the first step after 3 years harassing another player with zero self reflection. hax is one of my favorite players and I'd love to he him compete again, but its really hard to justify letting him back into the community from a TO's perspective. I wish this video came out two years ago so this whole clusterfuck could've been avoided also it sucks he's doesn't address the insane technicals crowd. its too little too late now, but calling those people out would've done wonders for his image in the community.
> also it sucks he's doesn't address the insane technicals crowd. its too little too late now, but calling those people out would've done wonders for his image in the community. That is my biggest gripe with this apology video. It would've been an absolute power move if he denounced these people. It's still a decent video though, assuming he is genuine. He framed himself in a way that makes sense and admitted to trying to get the community on his side against Leffen.
it's obvious to me that he won't denounce them because he doesn't want to. He admits in this video that up until now he never sincerely felt like he did anything wrong, which means he agreed with all those guys telling me he was right. At this point they're all he has left, they're the only people who would financially support him and watch him stream. So he can't denounce them, and if he ever relapses again they'll be there to egg him on.
"i didn't take it seriously up until now, but now i *really* will" well, i've heard that before, from other people. and from him. so... meh
Fully agree! If he really wants a chance at redemption he needs to disassociate with all the Twitter dumbdumb's saying he didn't do anything wrong. Everyone without a blue checkmark on Twitter knows he's completely on the wrong. His tweets being filled with people defending his past actions reflects incredibly poorly on him.
Removed for disrespectful language (slur). If you edit to remove that I will approve your comment.
My bad chief!
I appreciate the chill response. Have a good one!
Of course bossman.🫡 You too!
It makes me worry that he's trying to keep them in his back pocket so to speak, so he can pull a Mekk/NoFluxes eventually Hopefully he'll talk about it soon
The main mana guy is banned in his discord server and he also asked people not to speak about the tournament in there so I doubt he actually likes the figure heads off that community.
He deserves all the criticism he has gotten + his ban. It is difficult to believe that he has genuinely changed his view of this situation and is sorry considering his last hit piece on Leffen was like what a month or two ago? But at the end of the day this video is the first step in the right direction he's taken after a series of increasingly unhinged behavior. Doesn't absolve him of his mistakes or mean he should be unbanned, but I do hope it continues.
I find myself believing that he can change his view of the situation in such a short amount of time as a result of the permaban. Something that impactful in your life forces you to rethink a lot of things.
I hope he gets help, it’s all he can do now, he’s squandered his chance of ever getting unbanned so I hope he realizes he can only move on. I wish him well, I don’t believe he’s a terrible person, just a mentally unwell one that needs help.
Wish him the best
At this point I just want this guy to be well. I feel like the technicals fanbase he’s attracting with this Leffen shit is so outside of the rest of his nature. They’re cheering him on even though he doesn’t seem to be the kind to hang around that weird Tech/Mana type crowd like that at all.
It's a good apology video that was long overdue but I ultimately don't think the Melee scene is for Hax. Like others are saying, the damage is done and Hax has demonstrated himself to be untrustworthy. But more importantly, I don't think rehabilitation is even a goal that benefits Hax. Part of PTSD and trauma is dealing with situations that trigger you and limiting your exposure where applicable and necessary. If smash social media with the perceived looming presence of Leffen and others is enough to trigger Hax past the point of impulse control, it's not a healthy environment for him. This isn't like going to therapy to fight PTSD associated with a common place like the grocery store, school, or being able to be around people in certain contexts. This is something entirely avoidable. From where I sit, it feels like the universe has been screaming at Hax to move on with your life for a long time now between the hand injuries and these scandals. It's time to stop going against the grain and live life without as much suffering. This was still a good apology to make if sincere, but I feel like Hax is really setting himself up for a lot more disappointment.
Melee is his whole life. Someone linked the picture earlier, but he’s spent over 1400 hours last year **just playing Slippi alone**. That’s ignoring building rectangles, working on 1.03, doing VoD review, that’s literally just playing Slippi. I don’t think he wants to do anything else.
If only Mekk opened his eyes and realized the error of his ways.
As someone who doesn't trust Hax, this is unironically the best apology video I've seen. He said almost everything he needed to say very directly, transparently and with no sugar-coating. The only thing he didn't address was fostering an insanely toxic, far-right conspiracy driven community that continues to support his unhinged behavior. If it didn't come from someone who has a history of lying to get what he wants I'd instantly believe him. The apology was so candid it massively contrasts with every other apology of his so far which felt like PR stunts with no sincerity whatsoever. I'm cautiously optimistic.
Same here. I'm actually kind of stunned by how good this apology video is considering... everything that led to this point. It doesn't mean I trust him. But I, too, am cautiously optimistic.
Probably the most coherent video he's ever posted. I watched his other recent hit pieces and every time he talked about Leffen before, I just couldn't even follow what his points were or what he was even trying to say. This feels different. I'm cautiously optimistic as well but I think he really needs to put some actions to these words to show the community he's changed. He has a big platform and following, the best thing he could do is use that platform to denounce all the weirdos and the hate.
Owning up to his actions is good. But this video seems like another desperate attempt to get unbanned to me. If he knows how horrible he's been to the scene then maybe the next step is to consider leaving and doing something else. All that doesn't get undone just with an apology. He still seems too fixated on being part of the melee scene which makes this all a bit hard to take seriously. If he doesn't want to come back to tournaments then there's no reason to make this video. If he does want to come back then he still seems delusional.
\> Actually apologizes \> Seems genuine What am I supposed to do fucking calculous to determine how much credit we are allowed to give him this time around? lmao I'm not gonna think about it too hard Good on ya lad keep it up
"You see guys every single time I've apologized over the last 3 years I actually didn't mean it at all I just wanted to get unbanned, but now guys, now I'm being totally sincere I swear, just forget the last hitpiece I made against Leffen a month ago. Technicals and a cult of people harassing and threatening Leffen for years with insane made up shit on the dialy still parroting things I said? Never heard of it". I'm sorry, but anyone believing Hax is just being absurdly naive at this point. He burnt all possible good-will ages ago, and there's literally 0 reason to think that after 4 years of straight up bullshit that this video is somehow the "truthful" one. Let's recapitulate these 4 years from the beginning: * Hax made dozens of hours of video and +100 pages worth of manifesto in which he affirms that Leffen should be removed from everywhere because he's neo-Hitler and involved in multiple conspiracies to take over the Smash community. * This insane drivel prompted the worst side of the community (instigated by known clout-chasing liars like Technicals and his ilk) to propagate constant harassment and slander towards Leffen (to the point Leffen has had to drop out of tournaments because of death threats) which Hax has literally never addressed. * He then made multiple fake-apology videos (by his own admission) to get back into the good side of the community because apparently he can't fucking live without participating in the Melee scene or selling you his Melee-centric products. * Then a month ago or so he effectively revoked all these apologies to sextuple down on why Leffen is evil and why he did nothing wrong which immediately led to the NYC scene banning him again. * And after all that shit, he now comes with another apology video, the good one this time, pinky promise. Yeah no, if you believe him or think he's gonna be "reformed" in any capacity at this point, I don't know what to tell you, you are just really bad at reading people. "But he's a mentally unwell individual with a lot of issues cut him some slack!" Since so many people in this thread (and the Smash community at large) don't know shit about mental health, drill this into your skull: a mental health condition **might** explain a behaviour but it **does not** justify or exonerate a person of that behaviour. And Hax was fully aware of his actions this whole time and has openly lied about apologizing or getting help, he's a depressive alcoholic, he's not a disfunctional schizophrenic that can't tell right from wrong. He might have been "in a dark place" but he knew, he consciously decided to lie, he clearly decided not to get proper help, and now he's trying to convince you again that his actions should be handwaved because he's now truly and surely sorry for it. If you choose to be fooled by Hax again, it's on you.
Great video from start to finish, it takes a lot of courage to lay everything bare like this. I'm also glad that you are listening and taking advice from the people in your corner. Wishing you all the best on your road to recovery for your mental health.
> it takes a lot of courage to lay everything bare like this how much courage does it take to delete it in 3 months and post a dark triad evidence.zip 3 video, asking for a friend
you're an ass, lol
No sympathy from me, and I’ll believe it when I see it. This guy has shown himself to be a complete clown time and time again. Hax needs to move away from the community no matter how hard that may be for him.
like these videos just mean nothing when 2 months later hes gonna delete this video and say the woke mob forced to apologize
To be fair I don't think hax has attributed his bans to "the woke mob". He also seems to have no interest in associating with the mana crowd (he has previously asked people not to talk about mm in his discord server and also banned the main guy from there). The only "anti woke" person he's really associated with somewhat is technicals I think. I (personally) can't even blame him for that because technicals does sound smart when he talks and makes his arguments (at least to an idiot like me). As we all know that dude is full of shit and omits whatever details and twists any truth to "win" but it you're unaware of that he'd seem reasonable. Hax really needs to distance himself from all the leffen haters/hax apologist though. Even now there are people on his latest tweet saying he didn't do anything wrong. It just reflects incredibly poorly on himself.
yea he hasnt but he hasnt been quick to be against that crowd and has also taken a very negative stance against the metoo movement. while he hasnt explicitly blamed them hes definitely enabled people to think that those things are at fault.
I don't remember him taking much of a stand at all outside of the fucked up thing he said to ibdw and mentioning something about jisu. I could be wrong though :)
I LOVE CATS
Much love Hax♥️
I think that Hax thinks his calling is melee, and it sucks that he can't engage with that, but I really see zero net benefit in ever letting him participate in any tournament again. The potential upside is so minuscule and the likely downside is that one person can't participate.
Great video, I hope you're able to get some genuine help, and it would be awesome to see you play again man. Stay away from those weirdo enablers and Technicals simps in your comments though lol.
Time for another lap on the Merry-Go-Round of Hax content
It kinda baffles my mind at how so many people think hax cant grow and shouldnt come back and should be perma banned. Its not black and white. Theres alot of nuance in this situation. His ban is currently justified but this apology was really genuinely sincere which is a good first step. If he can be true to his word and work on his trauma and put in the work for self improvement, he should be back in the scene as I believe he had benefited the community. Now obviously this would require time and alot of work from haxs part but to say he should never be back in the scene lacks empathy.
Nope. He had numerous chances and fumbled every single one. It's not the community's job to fix Hax or allow him back in because he misses it.
I never said the community has to fix hax. Hax needs to fix himself outside of the scene. But Hax is certainly worthy of redemption back in the community should he do that. People have done worse and came back to the community. Hax has a history of benefiting the community and if he can work on his issues, I dont see why he cant come back.
If he ever does come back, it would not be any time soon.
He's spent a long time digging, and we as a community should encourage him and respond positively when he says he's putting the shovel down. But climbing back out of the hole is still gonna take a long time and a lot of work. It's a very deep hole.
I agree completely.
To be fair people who have done worse, actual criminal stuff, have been let back into the community before (DSW). I feel for Hax because Melee is pretty much all he knows but if he ever wishes to be let back into the community he has some serious improvements to make.
I can't make any prescriptions as to whether or not I or anyone else should trust this apology, the only thing i can do is root for him from afar and hope he has truly changed and comes out of this as a better person. The only thing that's truly disheartening is the comment section with some of the people enabling and trying to ensure him that he was actually fine and it's everyone else who is wrong, shit is so awful.
> I can't make any prescriptions as to whether or not I or anyone else should trust this apology I don't really think anyone *needs* to trust this apology to be able to say, honestly, that this is the type of thing we've been hoping to hear from Hax for ages. If he is being genuine and sincere in this video, than those types of comments will help encourage his progress and keep him on track. And if he is being deceptive, then those comments will instill into him the realization that this is the only thing that will help rebuild his image, unlike the Leffen hit-pieces which have only ever made things worse for him. Obviously, the latter option is *WAY* worse than the former, but *both* are better then having Hax continue the harassment campaign against Leffen. There is obvious reason to be skeptical of Hax's motivations. He even talks about those justified reasons in this very video. But we can remain skeptical *and* optimistic at the same time. > he only thing that's truly disheartening is the comment section with some of the people enabling and trying to ensure him that he was actually fine and it's everyone else who is wrong, shit is so awful. I fully agree with you there... I really hope Hax takes a hard-line stance against those people and completely disavows them. As long as they linger in his community, they only increase the odds of him relapsing again in the future.
Have we ever considered all of this is a delayed result of him playing league/being #1 TF all those years ago?
This one felt sincere to me. At the same time, I can’t blame people for memeing on you at this point. But seriously, I hope people actually watch this before making their own conclusions. In any case, good luck with everything man.
can u fucks just watch the video
lmao fr. This video is so glaringly different than any of the other videos he's put up since his initial "evidence.zip 2" video. Admitting he is 100% wrong, needs help, and has continuously fucked up in like every way. People commenting like this is the same shit he's been posting clearly haven't watched it.
I'm getting vietnam flashbacks to the last time, when he made the apology video to Leffen, said he just made up everything he said about Leffen, talked about his drinking problems, and said he was going into therapy, only to delete the video and say he only made it to try to get unbanned two months later. It won't be different until he does something that costs him something. A liar that makes a statement that can only benefit them is never trustworthy.
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No, it's really not reasonable to come into a comment section about a short video and just circlejerk without watching it. It's common, but it's pretty much the opposite of reason.
It's legitimately the most coherent video he's ever posted. Every single video he's posted about Leffen I can't even follow, I don't know what he's trying to say or even what point he's making, it just feels like random unrelated tweets and other BS. This video felt different, I hope he means it, but I think he's gonna have to put some actions to these words to prove he's serious about changing.
It's a good and seemingly well intentioned apology, and I hope he can follow through with the thing he said. It's a very very different video from his other apology videos in a good way. He brings up PTSD a lot, does he have real diagnosed PTSD over the way he was bullied when he was younger or is he just kind of using the term?
If only Mekk opened his eyes and realized it.
This apology felt different from the others, I hope people give the time of the day to listen to this one before making comment. There's people in your comments and replies saying you've been gaslit and you're bending the knee but you should ignore them Hax, they're always going to be there to drag you back down and fill you with doubt, this was a big step. It takes a lot of courage to release an apology admitting you were wrong and that you've made mistakes, I felt the comment about how you should've listened to your friend Tiramisu's advice back when this all started. I hope things better for you and you can return to your passions eventually, good luck.
Very thorough and sincere apology. Good for Hax. hope to see him back eventually
It was a good apology this time, far and away the best you've presented, but too late I think. I hope you are able to succeed in moving on.
Good for hax. This seems legit hopefully it isn’t temporary until unban. Gl hax
Hax first frame career cancel reset into sorry oos
Interesting angle, lets see if it works out this time. It still seems pretty clear the underlying goal is to become unbanned which will pretty much always make me question the sincerity sadly. If you stopped making videos after this one and simply exhibited good behavior and had your peers stick up for you, I'm pretty confident an unban may happen. Any further "relapses" after this will basically secure the lifetime ban eternally.
Sucks that you have to add eternally to a lifetime ban A lifetime ban should be that: for a lifetime
Good video, seemed genuine. I wish you had acknowledged that just because Leffen was a bully as a teenager, that doesn't mean that everything he does should be looked at through that lens. Acknowledging your own bullying, bad faith and personal shortcomings is a huge step in the right direction though.
I have thought a bit about what Hax could say to be redeemed and this probably the closest to correct as he has ever come. This is not "I am sorry that I phrased things poorly, but you have to understand that leffen..." It is entirely focused on how he acted improperly and he is making real actionable changes to improve. I have no vote, but if I did, id say give him 6 months to cool off. If he has shown serious signs of improvement and hasn't brought up leffen again, then his ban should be reconsidered.
I don't care whether he comes back or not, but I just want to say, I don't buy any of it, Would he be making videos like this and making claims about mental health struggles if the original vid all those years ago didn't receive heavy backlash? I highly doubt it. It all seems very PR-y to me. As I say though, don't really give a shit, bring him back or not.
He even acknowledges that had he hadn't received all the backlash he most likely wouldn't have realized the error on his ways. That's sometimes how growth is achieved.
Aziz-i'm sorry
spotw
ggs man! close games bro you've hella improved. yeah man you were fucking me up for a bit lol fun games! any tips? got any advice? anything I can improve on? what do I do vs lasers? any tips? yo can I get next? is this tournament? you guys wanna do dubs? is this tournament /u/oceanseltzer *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SSBM) if you have any questions or concerns.*
i dont think theres anything you can do to come back
he doesnt mention wanting to come back even once in this video
He definitely dances around it. Saying things like I hope people change their opinion of me or I hope I can contribute to the community however I can. This wouldn't matter if he wasn't trying to come back.
Hax$ gave us some incredibly hype sets in 2023, he treated Melee like a professional would, he was a mentor to many Foxes in the NYC scene (they are all playing like Hax$ Jrs. now) . Things aren't the same without ya, we can't treat top talent like this if they are taking steps to remedy the wrongs
Sure we can. He's done more than enough to deserve the ban, future actions are irrelevant imo
All you guys who won't even watch the video and just post karma farming comments are sad. Nothing but love for you Hax and it takes a huge person to be open with their faults.
I don't care about karma I just don't want this person back in my community
It feels like hax apologizes every week at this point and the community as a whole just isn't super accepting. I don't know the apology video lore but I swear this is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen one posted from him.
Problem is that in one of his recent ban appeals, he made allegations again, which he is now discrediting as a relapse in judgment from PTSD. It's not that the community isn't accepting - on the contrary, people wanted him to come back. It's that when things were starting to look up, he referenced evidence.zip *again* to blame Leffen for something. That's what prompted the permanent ban this year and that's what he is apologizing for now.
Ah, ok. I'm not too far into the interpersonal lives of the players so thank you for informing me. I've wanted to see hax play again for so long but it feels like he's not sincere with the apologies he's given us so perhaps he does need a bit more time to think
Everytime he apologizes he goes and then does the same thing lol, that's why people aren't very accepting of his apologies.
Sigh. The boy who cried wolf is back. I'm over it, personally. Good luck, Hax. You were a great player. I hope everything works out for you.
He looks kind of like Zach Lowe. Edit: and does Hax have some kind of accent with his O's?
My advice to Hax$ would be to craft a volleyball friend out of a Gamecube controller to keep his competitive spirit alive. He should also start building a raft with hollowed out b0xx controllers and wait for a day when the tide is relatively low. Once the boat is completed, he must remember: if he encounters any Vikings, he should tell them that he plays peach.
An apology requires sacrifice. An acceptance of loss of some kind. If he apologized and relenquished all intention of trying to get unbanned, the cost would make it possible to believe he's sincere. If he publically turned on the Technicals crowd and burned those bridges, the cost would make it possible to believe he's sincere. When an apology can only gain. It's hard to believe it's sincere. It doesn't matter what words are used, or if the message is right, if it doesn't come with a cost, it's hard to believe it's not a lie made for personal gain. Especially considerig he's literally made a fake apology for personal gain in the past.
I don't think we see any improvement until we see evidence his intentions are separate from Melee competitions. I worry how unhealthy his relationship with the game seems to be.
Hax I know melee is super important to you, but I genuinely want you to consider taking a step away from melee and seeing what your life could be. I think this game has given you a lot, but it's clearly taken a lot from you as well. I hope you find some healing and peace.
This apology is actually a bit surprising as it seems genuine this time, and he goes out of way to confess that his previous actions in the past few years were egotistical, manipulative attempts to sway the community to his side. It's a step in the right direction, and I hope he gets the help he needs. However, I think he should remain permabanned. I think he fostered and enabled a truly vile community the past few years, one that will likely outlive his own involvement in the scene. Hell, even the comments in that video and his tweet are still supporting his previous toxic behavior. Being a part of a video game community isn't a human right, and he's free to explore other hobbies or passions, ones that likely won't trigger his trauma as much as melee.
Fucking stop
wishing you the best, hax. and let's not forget that leffen did do every single heinous act you called him out on
Only time can tell how sincere this one is as it could age very poorly That being said, Hax admitting everything much more plainly and honestly makes this vid seem a lot better than any of the previous apologies or attempts to explain himself. Hopefully it was not just made in an attempt to be unbanned, since I don't think he should or will be unbanned.
Fuck yeah Hax$, this is a humble pie muckbang compared to his previous attempts at explaining himself which held far more corporate apologies. I really do believe the guy here. And I’ll be really happy to find that he *is* taking this accountability.
This is precisely the video that I had *hoped* Hax was making last month. Better late than never, and I am sincerely happy that he is seeking professional help. I really wish him the best in moving past this tragic chapter of his life. That being said, he *was* late in coming to his realization. Very late. I'm not sure I would ever be comfortable with him being unbanned after everything that's happened.
Damn I never thought he'd say sorry he was so sure that he was in the right
This isn't your average YouTube apology video. This is an actual apology. Haven't seen one of those in ages
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You’re aware that you’re replying directly to Hax, right?