Sinatraa responds to Riot Games’ 6-month suspension

Jay “sinatraa” Won has responded to the six-month suspension he was dealt by Riot Games.

The suspension comes from an alleged refusal to cooperate with Riot Games’ investigation into sexual misconduct involving an ex-girlfriend. The former Overwatch League MVP and current Sentinels player took to social media to discuss the situation and seemingly accepted the suspension. 

sinatraa claims that violation stems from him stating he would cooperate with the investigation by turning over a video recording of him and his ex-girlfriend, Cleo “cle0h” Hernandez. He states that the video was deleted at the behest of Cleo, which is why Riot states he is being uncooperative in the investigation. sinatraa stated that he sought legal counsel and assumed the video would have to be shared in full since it was part of the investigation, but that never happened.

The six-month ban stems from a rule regarding player conduct, with Riot saying he misrepresented certain facts, made false statements, and did not cooperate with the investigation in a professional manner.  

sinatraa’s response gives no indication of whether he will remain with Sentinels or what comes next for his career. In his response he states he has an additional four months away from competitive play to gain the trust of his fans back. He also seemed to apologize to cle0h for unspecified actions he committed during their relationship.

“I’ve been reflecting a ton during the downtime and know how much I hurt Cleo emotionally and I’m truly sorry about it. I will learn from my mistakes and keep on trying to improve myself as a person,” sinatraa said.

Why is sinatraa suspended for Valorant?

sinatraa is suspended due to an alleged refusal to cooperate with a Riot Games investigation involving sexual misconduct claims by an ex-girlfriend. His former partner, cle0h, stated that the two had an ugly relationship where she was sexually and emotionally abused by sinatraa.

Riot Games launched an investigation into the matter, but the company noted in its competitive ruling the investigation has been paused as law enforcement is pursuing the matter separately. At the moment, Riot is issuing the punishment for failure to comply with the investigation but reserves the right to reopen the investigation and take additional actions against sinatraa.

The Valorant Championship Tour Masters event in Reykjavík begins next week. Tyson “TenZ” Ngo will continue to fill sinatraa’s spot on the Sentinels roster for the foreseeable future.