Trouble Is Brewing In FaZe Clan

To put things lightly, sports organization FaZe Clan has had a rough year or so. A few new scandals have popped up that have rocked the esports collective in unprecedented ways.

Recently, FaZe Clan member Nordan Shat, a.k.a. FaZe Rain, revealed that he was kicked out of FaZe House, the mansion shared by member of FaZe Clan. At the time, he told his followers that he took full responsibility for this turn of events and that he did not want anyone's sympathy. However, he was strangely evasive when it came to explaining why he was asked to leave.

A few days later, it appeared as though Rain had changed his tune regarding the situation. Now he is telling his followers that he was ousted unfairly and that he's been mistreated by the organization. Rain let his Twitter followers know exactly how he felt about the situation. In the process, he revealed a few more messy details surrounding his time with FaZe Clan. 

He tweeted, "FaZe is treating me so f—king unfair. After everything I did for you? After letting you not pay me back for 5 years and let it slide? ... I've never been f—ked over harder. NEVER."

In response, FaZe Clan co-owner FaZe Banks seemed to illuminate what had actually gone on behind the scenes. It appears as though Rain had mental health issues that have gone unaddressed. Back in 2018, Rain had checked himself into a facility for his depression. However, it appears that he does not consider that to be an option. 

"That isn't f—king true Nordan. We've offered you help numerous times," FaZe Banks tweeted. "We've explored so many different options to help you solve your problem. You have shut them ALL down."

In response, Rain wrote, "I'm not going to a facility I've told you a million times. You know exactly why ... I came back to LA to try and be happy with you guys and this is what happens."

Fans seem to be hopeful that Rain will take FaZe Clan up on these offers for help. However, there are still other concerning factors in this case, including the claims that Rain went unpaid for his time with FaZe Clan. 

This wouldn't be the first time we've heard allegations of FaZe Clan not properly compensating its talent roster. Just last year, FaZe Clan became the subject of a lawsuit from Tfue that accused the team of locking him in an "oppressive" contract. He further claimed that FaZe Clan essentially goes after young talent that doesn't realize they're being handed a bum deal until it's too late. It's worth noting that this same lawsuit brought to light the fact that FaZe Clan had signed member H1ghsky1 when he was only 11 years old, meaning that he had been playing competitively underage for quite some time — something else that didn't reflect particularly well on FaZe Clan.

Then, earlier this month, Dennis "Cloak" Lepore mentioned during a stream that he was unhappy with his contract from FaZe Clan. Not only that, but he was already exploring his options to try to get out of the contract. He essentially told viewers that he was only technically with the organization, but that he'd be trying to distance himself from it as quickly as possible. 

The other scandal currently faced by FaZe Clan concerns allegations made against one of their former editors, Barker. In an announcement to fans, FaZe Clan tweeted, "We have ended our relationship with Barker, one of our former team editors. He no longer has any association with FaZe Clan."

According to a report from Essentially Sports, several women have accused Barker of inappropriate behavior toward them. One woman in particular named Emily accused Barker of threatening self-harm in order to manipulate her emotionally. 

Emily shared a screenshot of a conversation she had with Barker, along with a caption that read, "Sending people who struggle with mental health issues videos of you self harming as well as unsolicited photos of yourself after being told no multiple times."

This apparently led to other women coming forward to explain that they'd had similar experiences with Barker. There were also some allegations of inappropriate conduct involving minors, which will likely lead to legal action against Barker. It appears as though FaZe Clan is taking precautions to distance itself from Barker as much as possible, which certainly makes a lot of sense for such a high profile organization with many young followers.

All in all, FaZe Clan continues to have a pretty tumultuous year. It's understandable that the group would try to reposition itself following a series of scandals. One has to wonder what could be next for the embattled organization.