TSM’s CEO Andy “Reginald” Dinh has been under the spotlight for the majority of his career. But now, the 29-year-old owner is being investigated by Riot Games for alleged bullying and verbal abuse toward his employees and players, according to WIRED’s Cecilia D’Anastasio.
“We are aware of the allegations made about the CEO/owner of TSM,” Riot Games said in a statement to WIRED. “As the league operator, we have engaged the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP to conduct an independent investigation into claims of misconduct made against the leader of this team, in accordance with standard league process.”
The LCS’ investigation was launched near the end of last year after claims surfaced around Reginald’s alleged mistreatment of his players and employees. Former TSM AD carry and North American League of Legends star Doublelift, for example, voiced his complaints about Reginald and his treatment of current and former players this past November.
“You’d be very fucking surprised at how many of your favorite familiar faces in the LCS [had a] legit mental breakdown because of how badly they were getting berated—how badly they were just getting verbally assaulted,” Doublelift said during a November stream.
The report also said that a handful of individuals who have worked for TSM claim that the organization is “dominated by a culture of fear” and that Reginald would berate employees for hours, sometimes over minor mistakes. One employee claimed that the CEO would call some people “worthless” or “stupid” and that he’d try to make examples out of some staff by publicly yelling at them.
Reginald did tell WIRED that he “[needs] to work on [his] delivery” and that he’s “working to improve the way [he] communicates with [his] team and those around [him].” But he still believes that there’s no room for underperformance and if he believes someone isn’t delivering, he won’t be scared to voice that.
The North American Players Association has also reportedly spoken with multiple people who say they’ve witnessed or experienced Reginald’s alleged verbal abuse. A TSM spokesperson told WIRED that the team launched its own investigation into the issue by creating an independent subcommittee and signing on separate legal counsel and an independent investigator.
The team plans to announce its findings later this month.
