Hello, friends.

It’s been a hell of a year for the Judge Program, and it’s only January 12.

For reference, here’s the announcement Wizards of the Coast made today:

<https://company.wizards.com/article/news/making-magic-spaces-safer>

And the statement from former JCC Lead (and current Regional Coordinator for Europe — North) Johanna Virtanen:

<https://blogs.magicjudges.org/conduct/2018/01/11/statement-ross-prajzner/>

It’s a lot to take in.

I’m not going to try to tell you how to feel about it. What I will tell you is that I believe the folks at Wizards of the Coast genuinely want what’s best for Magic, and that they take their responsibility to the game very, very seriously. I do not doubt, for a moment, that the people who made this decision ultimately want people to be safe at Magic tournaments.

There’s a lot to still be determined about how background checks at tournaments will be implemented. I don’t have a lot of answers about that, but I do believe that, if there are problems, the folks at WotC will make things right. It may take some time. Better judges than I have pointed out that this new policy is extremely problematic for our trans colleagues, and I agree. I sincerely hope that WotC will evaluate how they can make this new policy work for everyone, and I will reserve judgment until that time.

It’s impossible to talk about what has changed without talking about why it’s changed. On the surface, the person who agitated for this change in policy did so out of a concern for Magic-playing children. It’s a position every reasonable person would take: children should be safe at Magic tournaments. Nobody questions that.

However, when you claim to agitate for the protection of children, and then violate the privacy of children by doxxing them, it calls your entire judgment into question. I condemn Jeremy Hambly for enabling the doxxing of all L2+ judges in the program, and I believe him to be operating in bad faith, out of a desire to retaliate against Wizards of the Coast for suspending his membership and a desire to draw more traffic to his social media presence.

I’m sure many of you have questions and concerns. Hell, *I* have questions and concerns. If you’d like to reach out to me, please feel free to contact me via JudgeApps, or on Slack. I’m here for you, and even if I don’t have all the answers, I’m happy to listen.

Keep being awesome. You’re what makes Magic magical.

Nicholas Sabin
Regional Coordinator – USA Mid-Atlantic