Contrary to a previously released email that suggested otherwise, Riot Games announced that Jay "sinatraa" Won must undergo and complete professional conduct training in order for him to return to Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) action.
On April 14, two days after announcing that he is eyeing a return to pro play following a sexual abuse investigation and six-month suspension in 2021, sinatraa tweeted a screenshot of an email he received from Riot that seemingly cleared the way for his VCT eligibility.
In response, Riot Games' President of Esports John Needham made a statement acknowledging that the initial handling of the situation was a "mistake."
"On Thursday, April 14," Needham's statement reads, "the Competitive Operations Team became aware of an email sent by a member of our team that stated incorrectly that a mandatory component of a competitive ruling issued to Jay "Sinatraa" Won was not necessary.
"We have informed Mr. Won that contrary to that communication, and in accordance with the competitive ruling, he is required to undergo professional conduct training."
Needham went on to mention that Riot has already begun working with Sinatraa to complete his training, which is said to be focusing on "conducting oneself as a professional," "complying with rules and regulations" and "complying with investigations."
In the "Conduct Training Update" email from January that Sinatraa shared, a Riot Competitive Operations Team member seemingly told him that, regarding the prospect of having to complete training on "cooperating with investigations," "we feel like you would already know most of the information covered in the training."
Moving forward, Needham said that Riot has initiated an internal investigation with the individuals within the company who were involved, and is reviewing its policies and procedures to ensure competitive rulings are followed through correctly in the future.
"The allegations made in this matter are among the most significant that can be levied against an individual and we take all such claims extremely seriously," Needham said. "We would like to apologize to the Valorant community for our mistake."
