Fans come down on both sides of the ongoing legal battle between Turner “Tfue” Tenney and FaZe Clan but few would say that FaZe has handled the situation well.
The organization is looking to fix that by hiring a new Public Relations Manager. The listing appeared on a number of esports job boards, drawing widespread snark across social media.
“FaZe Clan…is searching for a dynamic and experienced publicist who is proactive and organized to join our fast-growing company,” the listing reads. “We want a driven professional and with an understanding of the evolving eSports (sic) industry.”
The incidents that made this PR hire necessary stem from a lawsuit that has the potential to shake the esports industry to its core. Tfue is suing FaZe to get out of a contract that he and his lawyer allege is unfair and unenforceable by California state labor laws.
The most explosive allegation against FaZe is that they have the right to 80% of whatever Tfue earns in branded content. FaZe claims that they have not exercised those rights with Tfue but that claus does not reflect well upon the organization.
Though the situation called for calm and quiet, FaZe COO Richard Bengtson reacted to the news of the lawsuit by implying Tfue is greedy and traitorous, while also agreeing with many of his allegations. More recently, FaZe released a bizarre “diss track” aimed at Tfue through banned 12-year-old Twitch streamer H1ghsky1 who the team allegedly pressured to lie about his age in order to maintain his social media presence.
While the damage may already be done, FaZe is looking to be better prepared for future kerfuffles with this hire. That said, the Tfue lawsuit still hangs over FaZe.
The case carries major legal ramifications over almost every esports organization and threatens to void many players’ contracts. Esports is fraught with organizations signing young, hungry players who lack proper representation. Though Tfue has become wildly successful through his association with FaZe and the organization has benefitted from his growth, there is no shortage of other esports stories that have unhappy endings.
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