League of Legends Coach Fired Following Suspension for 'Discriminatory Language'
It's not unusual for esports teams in games like League of Legends to change up their rosters of players, as seen last week when the Evil Geniuses released Brandon "Brandini" Chen. However, sometimes these decisions come as a result of more serious matters, as seen Wednesday when Origen terminated its strategic coach Jack "Kayys" Kayser after Riot Games suspended him for exhibiting "unacceptable behaviour in his personal games."
The initial suspension until June 25, 2020, was announced Tuesday in a competitive ruling from the League of Legends European Championship (LEC) after "periodic investigations" found Kayser used "discriminatory language towards other players" that has "no place in our competitive ecosystem." Apparently the repeat violations were "egregious," and therefore he was immediately suspended despite having no previous warnings.
Origen, once part of the organization RFRSH Entertainment, announced it has parted ways with Kayser the day after with "no further comments to this personnel matter," but wished him the best in his future endeavors. Kayser quote-tweeted the message from Origen saying that "no racial discriminatory language was used or is part of my character," but that he made mistakes he regrets and accepts their repercussions.
The LEC Summer Split will begin on June 12, following the suspension of various events in the American and European leagues back in March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Origen has made no announcements on social media about whether it will hire a new strategic coach before the start of the Summer Split, as coaches have proven to be valuable in other competitive games like Call of Duty: Warzone.
Though it seems somewhat likely, it is unclear whether the severity of Kayser's repercussions for using discriminatory language have anything to do with the currently amplified Black Lives Matter movements which multiple video game companies have been addressing in recent weeks. For instance, Infinity Ward announced its intent to curb racist names in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone after delaying the release of Modern Warfare Season 4 and Call of Duty: Mobile Season 7.
Either way, it should be interesting to see how future League of Legends esports matches shake-out in the aftermath of this firing. Riot Games recently announced a new way for sponsors to advertise during matches by customizing Summoner's Rift banners seen throughout the map.
League of Legends is available now on PC.
Source: League of Legends - Set language to "English (Europe)" to view statement.
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