Former League of Legends pro Hai was chat restricted earlier this week for showing his frustration after two teammates went AFK in the fountain. While many people felt that punishment was questionable, Riot is doubling down.
The 27-year-old is now on a three-month probation period from the League Partner Program (LPP), posting a screengrab of the warning last night. Since Hai’s behavior “hasn’t been in accordance” with the LPP guidelines, all the perks that come with the program are being temporarily revoked.
“Over the next 3 months you will not have access to any perks of the LPP program such as League Unlocked, creator accounts, skin giveaways, Twitch Rivals and other event opportunities,” the probation reads. “If improvements are not made within the next 3 months, you will need to be removed from the program.”
Hai told a teammate in chat that they have a “shit attitude” for going AFK and said they were being a “terrible player.” These statements were deemed disruptive enough to issue a chat ban. But Hai claims that the AFKers “didn’t get touched.”
Hai’s probation has caused other big names within the League community to speak out. Former pro Voyboy called Riot’s actions “wrong,” claiming he’s called griefers “losers” before and asked to also be put on probation.
And Twitch star Tyler1 expressed similar sentiments during his broadcast last night.
“Either remove my LPP and ban me from tournaments as well, or don’t touch Hai,” Tyler1 said. “That shit don’t make no sense. That’s crazy.”
Upon checking his account, Tyler1 discovered that he also “lost LPP.”
League vets scarra, IWillDominate, and aphromoo also weighed in.
It’s clear that Riot’s report and punishment system needs to be addressed. Voyboy created a video last month that discussed the “sad state of League Solo Q,” expressing his disappointment in the lack of punishment for trolls, griefers, and AFK players.
Riot has taken several steps to address the toxicity running rampant in the hit MOBA. Reporting and muting players during champion select is on track to launch in Patch 10.14 and Riot claims it will “dedicate more resources” to curbing issues of intentionally feeding, AFKs, and other game-sabotaging behavior.
