Things Are Quickly Getting Worse For FaZe Clan

Even gamers who aren't immersed in the world of esports have likely heard of FaZe Clan — and not necessarily for the best reasons. Way back in November 2019, the gaming organization unwillingly found itself at the center of a controversy when member FaZe Jarvis was banned from "Fortnite" for posting a video of himself using an aimbot. Last year, the org was embroiled in a court battle with former member Tfue. Now, FaZe Clan is back in the news again — and, once more, Jarvis is cooking up trouble (with help from some of his Clan-mates, this time).

First, some background: In June, a number of FaZe Clan members — plus YouTuber RiceGum — announced their support of a new cryptocurrency named Save The Kids. As its name suggests, the purpose of the currency was supposedly to raise money for charities centered around children. However, after YouTuber SomeOrdinaryGamers — AKA Mutahar — uploaded a video revealing data that suggested Jarvis and co. were engaging in a "pump and dump" scheme (basically driving up the price of their currency and then quickly selling when it drops too low), fans were outraged. This led to the firing of Jarvis' brother, FaZe Kay, as well as the suspension of Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo.

Now, FaZe Clan founder FaZe Banks has opened up about his involvement in the scheme — or, rather, his lack thereof. In a July 6 tweet, Banks wrote, "I don't know how this isn't 100% clear at this point, but I had zero involvement or knowledge of this SaveTheKids garbage and neither did FaZe Clan." He added, "The people involved acted as individuals and did all that s**t on their own and have been removed as a result."

In a follow-up tweet, FaZe Banks wrote, "Nobody's more upset about all of this than we are. We took action the moment this was brought to our attention." He also claimed that he would've preferred if the FaZe members involved in the scandal had come to him first so he could have "shut the entire thing down before it was too late."

While there's no way to know for sure whether or not Banks' claims are legit, it's worth mentioning that the FaZe Clan co-owner has engaged in some pretty shady cryptocurrency practices in the past. As noted by Dexerto, FaZe Banks took to Twitter in May to promote the BankSocial crypto, even offering $1,000 to a fan who retweeted, liked, and followed the currency's account. According to CoinGecko, within 24 hours of Banks' tweet, the crypto rose to 2.5 times its value — only to quickly and dramatically plummet.

Fan reactions to Banks' statement have been mixed, with some users calling him a hypocrite and posting screenshots of the BankSocial tweet. Still, others are more encouraging, putting forth the thought that the whole situation wasn't his fault. Those following the Save The Kids controversy might never know exactly what went down behind the scenes, but one thing is for sure: the whole fiasco isn't doing anything to help the esports team's reputation.