LCS issues ruling on TSM Regi abuse, bullying allegations
TSM executive Andy “Reginald” Dinh has come out on the bad end of a competitive ruling from Riot Games following allegations of mistreatment of players and staff.
One of the biggest stories to come out of the last League of Legends esports off-season was the feud between Peng “Doublelift” Yilang and the TSM founder. The veteran ADC claimed that Regi had created a culture of abuse and bullying within the organization. He stated that even star players like Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen and Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen found themselves as victims.
While Regi denied any wrongdoing, Riot evidently disagreed. A competitive ruling has been issued, with the organization being fined and Reginald himself facing a two-year probationary period in addition to compulsory sensitivity training.
“The League believes that there was a pattern and practice of disparaging and bullying behavior exhibited by Andy Dinh towards TSM players and staff members…An independent monitor is being appointed to operate a tip-line and follow-through with regular check-ins with TSM League of Legends players,” the LCS said in a statement.
The TSM organization is being hit with a $75,000 fine for the offense. Reginald is being placed on two-year probation “across the Riot ecosystem.” This will directly impact his dealings with TSM’s League of Legends and Valorant teams.
Though Doublelift’s accusations sparked change, this wasn’t the first case of public accusations against Reginald. In 2016, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro player Sean “sgares” Gares posted a series of DMs and text messages between himself and Reginald regarding player pushback against the formation of the PEA, a new CSGO league. This escalated to the point that sgares was cut from TSM, and the remainder of the team’s roster left with him.
Why is TSM Regi being sanctioned by Riot Games and the LCS?
Regi was accused of poorly treating a number of TSM players and staff members. These allegations led to an investigation by Riot Games and an internal investigation by TSM.
Portions of these investigations were performed jointly by TSM and the LoL publisher, including interviews with some of the accusers. Reginald released the results of the TSM investigation in May.
“The investigator found no evidence of any unlawful behavior on the part of the company, its executives, or by me personally. In addition, not a single witness described any systemic and/or isolated incidents of sexual harassment or gender discrimination,” Reginald said in a statement.
The initial allegations from Doublelift did not accuse Regi of anything unlawful, or of any sexual or gender discrimination. Some fans wondered why Reginald would make mention of these specific considerations given that they weren’t a part of the accusations to begin with.
Reginald added that his “current communication style is not effective at times” and that he would be going through sensitivity training. He added that he would receive coaching to improve his communication skills.
With an official ruling from Riot Games and the probationary period looming, Reginald will be required to change up his management style.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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