Wayne Charness, Senior Vice President at Wizards of the Coast parent Hasbro, has fired off a letter of protest to Michael Goldfarb, the aide to presidential candidate John McCain who disparaged Dungeons and Dragons players on multiple occasions (see “McCain Camp Links Obama Supporters to D&D”).  The letter points out the many military personnel who play D&D (important because one of the Goldfarb barbs says it may be “typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons and Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman’s memory of war from the comfort of mom’s basement”), and asks that Goldfarb not make any more “condescending comments about D&D.” 

Charness also quotes from an active duty soldier who saw the Goldfarb comments and said, “Wizards of the Coast (the makers of D&D) has sent care packages to the troops on many occasions, providing free gaming supplies in support of our men and women serving the country overseas to help them decompress after hours. McCain's people should really check their facts before they spout off. Does John McCain have no idea how many GIs play D&D?”

Wizards of the Coast president Greg Leeds posted Charness’ letter on the D&D site, telling D&D players that “everyone at Wizards is offended and baffled by the ignorance” displayed by Goldfarb.   He also says of Goldfarb, “Obviously, this person harbors some retro prejudices and has no idea what D&D is about or who the fans really are.”