Riot Games Reaches Verdict In TSM Reginald Bullying Investigation

Esports team TSM and its CEO, Andy "Reginald" Dinh have been facing controversy for some time now. Despite being a successful team, particularly in "League of Legends," and making esports history with its cryptocurrency partnerships, it has been plagued by allegations of creating a toxic workplace, mistreating employees, and abuse by Dinh in particular. Now, an investigation by Riot games has confirmed some of these allegations and the ruling is going to cost Reginald and his team.

The trouble began back in January when it was reported that Dinh was under investigation by Riot for bullying and abusing employees. It was also revealed that the team was conducting its own internal investigation of the matter separately. The accusations involved name-calling, yelling, and calling employees late at night to berate them. Many employees had shared stories of abuse anonymously and even former TSM member and streamer Doublelift had openly spoken on his Twitch stream about Dinh's bullying. While Dinh tried to downplay the allegations, arguing that he simply has high standards for himself and his team and that he can be very blunt in expressing disappointment, the controversy did not go away and the investigations continued.

Things got even worse in May when the Washington Post reported that Dinh and TSM may have violated California labor laws by requiring some contracted employees to carry the responsibilities of full time employees and failing to compensate them adequately. While this particular issue is currently unresolved, we now have some closure regarding the allegations of abuse by Dinh.

On July 13, Riot Games' League Championship Series (LCS), the major "League of Legends" professional league in North America, released the results of its investigation and its ruling in the case. The LCS concluded that "that there was a pattern and practice of disparaging and bullying behavior exhibited by Andy Dinh towards TSM players and staff members."

As a penalty, TSM will be fined $75,000 and Dinh will be required to complete sensitivity training. He will also face two years of probation "across the Riot ecosystem." Additionally, an independently operated tip-line will be established for "League of Legends" players to report any future incidents anonymously.

The LCS was careful to clarify that it limited its investigation to the allegations of abusive behavior and that other issues, like possible violation of labor laws, will have to be addressed by the parties involved in arbitration or court.

Neither Dinh nor TSM have yet responded to these developments. While TSM's internal investigation had previously cleared Dinh of any wrongdoing, this new, independent ruling could have implications for the team going forward.