Riot Games Is Investigating Esports Team Founder Over Bullying Allegations


One of the biggest names in esports and the founder of TSM is under investigation after allegations of bullying in the workplace.

Andy “Reginald” Dinh is the founder and CEO of TSM, or Team SoloMid. He has led the team since 2009, ever since the beginning of League of Legends esports.

Riot Games told WIRED over email that they are “aware of the allegations made about the CEO/owner of TSM”. They said they have engaged a law firm to “conduct an independent investigation into the claims of misconduct made against the leader of this team”.

TSM owner Reginald has serious beef with how Riot does things
Credit: TSM

Allegations

Current and former employees and professional players have accused Dinh of verbally abusing them. WIRED say four individuals who worked with TSM told them the organisation is “dominated by a culture of fear”, and that Dinh has been known to yell at employees. Two sources say Dinh called employees after hours to scream at them.

“A normal boss who thought you were doing a bad job would give you feedback” said one employee. Instead, they say at TSM the feedback was simply “this is trash” or “you’re awful”.

Former TSM player Doublelift talked about Dinh’s conduct on a livestream last year. He said “He’s like a bully who gets away with being a bad person because he’s powerful.”

Doublelift slams "disgusting" TSM after LCS 2021 roster issues - Dexerto
Credit: Riot

Dinh claims he “has exceedingly high expectations for myself, and I share those same high expectations with everyone I work with”. However, he admits his vocabulary was “at times too harsh and ineffective”.

A spokesperson for TSM also says the organisation launched its own investigation last year after allegations. TSM expects to announce the investigations findings later this month.

TSM says: “After our independent investigation had already begun, Riot contacted us and requested our cooperation in their own independent investigation regarding the complaints related to League of Legends players. Andy and TSM leadership have been in touch with Riot and we are fully cooperating with them as well.”

What do you think about these allegations against the TSM esports team founder? Let us know your thoughts on this story on our social media pages.

[Featured Image Credit: TSM]