From recollection the article was clear in inferring that the human player wished to remain anonymous including identifying features. We are only told: - avatar

From recollection the article was clear in inferring that the human player wished to remain anonymous including identifying features. We are only told: - avatar female - player had slight southern drawl on phone. From this information the gender of the player is unknown, and since the article is about the player, not the avatar, gender neutral pronouns are appropriate to maintain journalist integrity. From your comment it sounds like you’re attributing gender politics to this article where there isn’t necessarily any.