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Riot Games has officially announced the suspension of the former Chief Executive Officer and founder of G2, Carlos Rodriguez. The game developer released the information and accused the former CEO of being “engaged in activity detrimental to the best interest of the League and Riot Games.”
The behavior reportedly violated Riot Games’ code of conduct section in the company’s League of Legends European Championship rule book. As a result, Rodriguez has to stay away from the esports scene until November 13, 2022. The game developer claimed that the former CEO’s actions and statements presented Riot Games in a poor light.
Riot Games explained that Rodriguez’s previous actions clearly violated the LEC’s Official Rules’ Article 9.2: 5. The passage revealed that team members “may not give, make, issue, authorize, or endorse any statement or action having, or designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interest of the League, Riot Games or its affiliates, or League of Legends, as determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the League.”
Rodriguez was banned from having “any managerial or operational position with a team or organization in a Riot-sanctioned competition” for the next eight weeks. The game developer’s suspension will officially kick off on September 18 when G2 Esports places Rodriguez back on unpaid leave.
Besides the suspension, Rodriguez was also mandated to undertake sensitivity and executive training overseen by an independent third party with no ties to G2, Rodriguez, or Riot Games. The ruling stated that the training had to be completed within 120 days, after which the G2 founder could be let back into Riot Games’ ecosystem.
120 days from now is roughly February 11, so Rodriguez will likely be a part of the game developer’s esports ecosystem under any organization at the start of 2023. The G2 founder is yet to respond publicly to Riot Games’ ruling.
Riot Games’ recent actions resulted from an investigation performed by the organization on September 19, after Rodriguez’s previous Andrew Tate-related incident.
A few weeks ago, the former esports organization head posted a video of himself partying with Andrew Tate, a controversial public figure.
In addition to his widely known misogynistic views, Tate has been accused of being a human trafficker. Due to his extreme views on sensitive topics, Tate has notably been banned from major social media platforms.
Aside from the clip showing Rodriguez’s affiliation with the infamous public figure, the former G2 seemed to worsen the situation after releasing a follow-up tweet. Rodriguez unsurprisingly received backlash from colleagues and fans due to the video and wrote back, revealing that he would not let his friendships be “policed.” The G2 founder added that he would “party with whoever the fuck I want.”
Shortly after the tweet was posted, G2 released a statement concerning the issue and explained that Rodriguez was placed on eight weeks of unpaid suspension by the company.
A few days later, the organization released a second statement announcing Rodriguez’s resignation from the post in G2. The former CEO also posted a video during that period where he broke the news to his followers and revealed that he regretted his actions.
Besides the online backlash, Rodriguez’s action cost G2 a spot on Valorant’s Americas league-partnered squads for the fast-approaching VCT 2023 season. In preparation for the partnership, G2 were in talks with XSET about the team’s entire roster and staff. However, the entire agreement had to be called off after Riot Games reversed its decision to partner with the European organization.
