Cover-Credits:
Two Valorant Game Changers players have been suspended by Riot Games for toxicity after an argument broke out in the community following an instance of teabagging. Riot found the players to be guilty of harassing and using vulgar language that targeted and isolated another player. "Dawn" (full name withheld) was banned for three months for using vulgar language against a member of the GALORANTS community while “Risorah” (full name withheld) has been banned for nine months for harassing a member of the GALORANTS community. The two will be blocked from all official Valorant events due to their actions.
Timeline of events in the Game Changers controversy
24th June - Vulgar remarks made against victim by Dawn
A player (identity kept secret by Riot Games) engaged community members on the GALORANTS Discord server. On 27th June, the discussion evolved into an argument spanning multiple Twitter posts. Dawn’s responses included a vulgar and targeted remark at the anonymous player.
27th June - Victim targeted multiple times by Risorah
Risorah created multiple Twitter posts specifically targeted at the same player in which Risorah pasted GALORANTS Discord conversations between themselves and Player A. Risorah proceeded to post a video they edited, in which they amplified and personally added vulgar commentary around the player.
28th June - Victim targeted with vulgar posts
Risorah directly tagged and targeted the player as the subject of a vulgar post. During the course of the investigation, Riot Games reviewed extensive screenshots and video of the alleged violations and of correspondence between the accused and the victim. Additionally, Riot Games conducted interviews with involved parties, including Dawn and Risorah.
25th July - Riot Games’ ruling
Dawn violated Rule 7.3.1 of the VALORANT Champions Tour Global Competition Policy. Dawn is banned from any association or affiliation with a team in a Riot-sanctioned competition for three months, until 27th September.
Risorah repeatedly and systematically targeted and isolated another player via Risorah’s personal social media, in addition to making multiple vulgar comments towards the anonymous players. These are violations of Rule 7.3.1 and 7.3.4 of the VALORANT Champions Tour Global Competition Policy. Risorah is banned from any association or affiliation with a team in a Riot-sanctioned competition for nine months until 27th March 2023.
The competitive ruling issued by Riot Games can be viewed here.
25th July - Punished players respond to ruling
Both players have addressed the controversy and were recently a part of Charles White Jr.’s (penguinz0/MoistCr1TiKaL) stream where they discussed the issue at length. White is likely to release a video on the situation on his YouTube channel in the near future.
25th July - Community condemns actions by the two players
The action of the two players has upset the Game Changers community. Benita "bENITA" Novshadian of Shopify Rebellion’s Game Changers team said on Twitter that it is difficult to take the Game Changers scene seriously when there is no competitive integrity and rules are broken. With players’ careers and their lives being affected due to the actions of some players, it brings down what the Game Changers circuit stands for.
