ESPN 2 Forces R. Mika to Cover Up in Evo Finals

EVO is the fighting game community's biggest event of the year, and our Jeff Pannell has been covering it. That said, there are sometimes things that aren't really visible on the floor and this only came to light really today. Reported by Japanese Interpreter Ryan Harvey, who had to explain the situation on the floor to Fuudo, it appears that after the first top 8, ESPN required EVO to use Story Costume 1 for R. Mika after the default costume was found to be "too revealing" by ESPN according to Ryan.

https://twitter.com/fubarduck/status/755030840472506368

Ryan Harvey has said that he doesn't want to discuss it any further at this time.

Here we have two Top 8 matches for Street Fighter V, the first that Fuudo was in and the second. We can see in the first match he is using the default costume, and in the second he is using the different Story Costume 1.

https://youtu.be/XZ5bJ8urksk

We reached out to ESPN about this to confirm the story, and they have declined to comment at all on the matter. While we have reached out to EVO about the situation, they have not responded.

Without having a comment from ESPN, we can't be sure what it was that particularly prompted the change, nor is this the first time that Street Fighter V, or R. Mika in particular, have been addressed about appearances. R. Mika's buttslap was removed when Capcom felt some players may find it uncomfortable, and most recently Cammy had her nipples removed from her model (That must have been painful!).

This does beg a question, why does ESPN, who hosts and creates content like the ESPN Body Issue, which is far more revealing, have an issue with R. Mika's virtual skin, which covers far more than the ESPN Body Issue does? If you want to take a look at that NSFW and far more risque piece of content you can check here. 

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think ESPN was right to do this? Do you think this is something that was incredibly silly? Share your thoughts in the comments below!