LCK Investigation Results in Indefinite Ban for cvMax, Cho Gyu-nam
It’s no big secret there’s a lot of drama floating around Kim “cvMax” Kae-ho. He’s the former Griffin head coach and current DragonX head coach. Well, now we have to say “former” DragonX head coach, too. As of November 20th, Riot Korea dropped the hammer. Griffin’s former director Cho Gyu-nam and cvMax were investigated and banned indefinitely.
Official Statement
Here is the official statement from Riot concerning the suspension of cvMax:
“We had announced in the mid-announcement on the 29th of October that we will continue to investigate the suspicions and reports.
During the investigation, we were notified of former Griffin head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho had taken violent measures physically and verbally during his tenure in Griffin. As of this report, we investigated further based on both parties related along with the statements of the witness(es) and were able to identify that there was violence towards some of the players.
In any case, any kind of violence is not permitted in the LCK. Especially as a head coach within the LCK league, violence cannot be justified. It was identified that the verbal abuse towards players was at a level hard to endure as a person through multiple depositions and submitted material, and above all, some of the victims of the violence were minors at the time. This type of violent behavior is prohibited by the Korean law, or is against general ethical behavior. Therefore, we have concluded that cvMax’s behavior is a serious breach against LCK rules.
Addressing the seriousness of this behavior, we impose an ‘indefinite suspension’ on cvMax. As of this suspension, we clarify that cvMax will not be able to participate in any esports events in any way that Riot Games holds or hosts including the LCK.”
The Penalties
So, let’s talk about punishments. Then we can worry about if they are warranted.
Cho Gyu-nam
In addition to Cho Gyu-nam’s indefinite ban from Riot affiliated esports events, Griffin got fined 100 Million Won ($85,000).
According to Riot, in the case of an underage player, Cho had a duty to notify their legal guardian and earn their agreement on anything involving them. It concerns the allegations of a forced trade of Kanavi, which we discussed previously here.
Cho transferred this underage player without involving the player’s parents at all and influenced him negatively. It could have been with coercion, threats, or threats of violence. We do not have any specifics, so we’re not going to speculate. But this is incredibly shady, and it’s disgusting to treat any player this way.
Kanavi had no say-so in this dealing. The investigation concluded that Cho was involved in adding clauses to Kanavi’s contract. If the time he was on loan was changed, it was up to Cho to notify the Operation Committee (but he did not). It all culminated in a decision Cho’s acts were premediated, thus the punishment.
The long and short: Don’t be a jerk to your players. Not ever.
Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho
cvMax has been indefinitely banned from any Riot event for “physical and verbal abuse” to some players on Griffin’s roster. What’s worse, some of these players were/are minors, making it much worse.
Griffin lost cvMax as Head Coach right before World’s this year and is now banned indefinitely in any activities run by Riot. That means he can’t come to America to try and sneak a new gig. Now, a company could hire him behind the scenes in some shady deal.
Cultural Norms
Okay, so let’s talk about this. Please understand that no matter what, I do not condone acts of verbal or physical violence.
According to a native Korean on Reddit (found in this thread), this style of coaching is a cultural norm in Korea. It’s not uncommon for coaches to yell, throw things, and possibly even corporal punishment.
It’s culturally acceptable in Korea, from what I understand. The problem is that Riot Games is a global company. Only one player filed a complaint against cvMax. Most of the player’s parents were fine with this style of coaching.
I don’t agree with this style of coaching because it’s appalling and disgusting. If Riot thinks this cvMax being banned will make this coaching style stop, they’re mistaken. My problem is that only one coach was looked at and banned forever. The permanent ban might have been a bit much, especially if this is how they’re brought to teach players.
All coaches in the LCK should be looked at, in my opinion. If it’s truly a cultural norm, let’s look at all of them and see what the findings are. To only ban him seems incredibly unfair.
What Is Being Done?
Riot is putting a great deal of effort into preventing things like this from happening again, according to the Korean League announcement. You can find the full details in that link, but here’s a brief breakdown:
- Reorganizing the Lease System: This system was new as of Spring 2019, and a discussion will be had to see how it can be approved. If they can’t come to a consensus on how to improve it, it may be abolished outright.
- Strengthen Protection of Minor Players: When signing contracts with minor athletes, the player can discuss this with a legal representative. That person will have the player’s interests in mind. There will be separate management and training of underage players.
- LCK League Regulations Reorganization: The LCK League Regulations Book is going to be reviewed in detail. They are going to consider the protection of the rights of their athletes as a top priority in a transparent way.
- Thorough Management of Each Pro Team: The big take away is that there will be regular training and inspections made to prevent stuff like this from happening again.
Just because it’s a cultural norm, doesn’t make it okay. The news that this was going on horrified me, and I am disgusted by it. While I do agree cvMax is in the wrong, all coaches should be looked at. Apparently, that’s going to happen. But it looks like cvMax is the only one going to catch the ban hammer.
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