Riot still hasn't released evidence to support its recent and unprecedented banning of pro League of Legends team Renegades, and while at this stage it's unlikely the company ever will, a new ESPN report provides some background and context from the banned team's point of view. It's a lengthy report, but here are some of the key points.
In its statement in May, Riot cited three main reasons for the banning, including not properly disclosing team ownership, misleading player trades, and player mistreatment. Following the imposition of a 12 month ban on Chris Badawi for alleged tampering, ownership of Renegades was transferred to a new company, Mykles Gaming LLC. Riot claimed that Christopher Mykles had an agreement with Badawi to transfer 50% ownership of this company following the latter's ban period (it's against Riot's rules for ownership of a team to be acquired during a ban).
Both Badawi and Mykles – along with their attorney Bryce Blum – claim that despite Riot's accusations, no such agreement existed. Riot refuted that claim to ESPN though, saying it was not a "long-form legal agreement" but that it was an agreement nonetheless.
Meanwhile, details have emerged regarding the alleged player mistreatment within the Renegades' housing. According to the report, Badawi argued with team member Maria "Remilia" Creveling after she announced she'd leave the team on the week of January 31. Badawi allegedly threatened to reduce Remilia's salary to compensate money he spent on her medical bills.
"I spoke with Chris Badawi that evening and we agreed that he had acted impulsively and emotionally in this situation," Mykles said to ESPN. "We also agreed that his previous financial support of Maria Creveling was borne solely out of his generosity and had no bearing on her player contract with Mykles Gaming, LLC, therefore all associated payments should be made to her, and they subsequently and immediately were. I was also informed that Christopher Badawi had apologized to Maria Creveling that same day."
It's a tangled web, and it's well worth reading over the original report for all the finer details. It'll be interesting to see whether the report will coax Riot to say any more on the matter.
