And E-Sports continues to go up in flames...

This is an American story this time.

High-level American League of Legends was rocked ten days ago when Riot Games (the Chinese-owned creators of the video game League of Legends and the sanctioning body for professional play thereof) threw three high-level ownership groups out of the sport entirely, giving bans from one year to life for varying offenses.  The three ownership groups were given until midnight Pacific time tonight (May 18) to sell and relinquish their rights to professional League of Legends to groups Riot would accept.  As of the writing of this article, six hours before the deadline, only one has succeeded.

This is almost unheard of, especially in one of the higher-profile "major leagues" of the e-sport.

When you get right down to the meat and potatoes of the situation, though, the implications are far, far more disturbing than simply seeing the people thrown out.

First, a very quick primer:  Sixteen teams make up the top two tiers of League of Legends in North America.  The top ten teams form the North American League Championship Series, the NA LCS for short.  The next six teams form the North American Challenger Series, the NA CS.

At the end of each of two "splits" in a yearly season (which culminates in a World Championship in October for the top teams in the top leagues all over the world -- this year to be held in the US.  The group stage for 16 teams will be held in San Francisco, the quarterfinals in Chicago, the semifinals at Madison Square Garden, and the Grand Final October 29 at the Staples Center for a seven-figure prize and The Summoner's Cup), the bottom teams of the LCS face the top teams of the CS in a promotion-relegation series while the top teams of the LCS play in the playoffs for advancement to said World Championship or progress thereto.

The three teams expelled by Riot Games were all involved in this promotion-relegation scenario.  The two teams which fell into this scenario from the LCS, but survived to remain in the LCS for the summer, Renegades and Team Impulse, both have been expelled.  One of the teams from the CS who failed to gain promotion, Team Dragon Knights, was also tossed.

Riot, to protect uninvolved players (these offenses are ruled to have been completely organizational and by people at the organizational level, so the players should be given every opportunity to retain their positions in professional League) did not announce what exactly would happen if one or more of the spots went unsold.

In short, the North American professional League of Legends scene is completely compromised.

How'd we get here?

Let's start with what could invoke an unannounced "contingency plan" should they not sell their top-level spot in the next six hours (as of when I write this):  Team Impulse.  The schedule for the summer split, released today, has a "TBD" spot where Impulse is. 

Their offenses effectively indicate the owner had no interest in fielding a professional team, nor taking care of them.

• This ownership group was a successor, buying the spot and the team from Chinese outfit LMQ, who moved to North America to attempt to capitalize on the far weaker North American professional scene.  Some of the offenses indicate that they may have predated the sale from LMQ as well.
• Riot Games did an audit of the major teams to ensure that all the rules and regulations would be followed.  One of them, Rule 3.2, indicates that the team must have actual contracts with all of their players.  Impulse only provided "summary sheets" and lied on those sheets that full contracts existed.
• This leads to the major beef, a violation of Rule 2.2.  Each player for a League team must be compensated at least $12,500, by rule of Riot Games. This was, apparently, not done for members of Renegades, with one claiming that, after March, the team was paid only about minimum wage.  The ownership had already failed to pay the players as agreed for the entire 2015 summer split, and Riot Games had to step in on that one.  Making one have to ask the question why the banhammer wasn't thrown in the 2015-16 offseason.
• Adding to the suspicion was word that, about three weeks before the bans went into place, the ownership of Impulse was attempting to sell the spot for the team, which would represent the third or so attempt to sell the team and divest out of professional League of Legends.

For these offenses:

• The team was expelled from the NA LCS and broken up.  The ownership interest was given until May 18 at midnight Pacific to divest.  Unless there's something I have not read, it appears they won't.
• The team was also fined $20,000 from it's final payment for the spring split by Riot.
• There is apparently no direct penalty to the owners of the team, whomever they may be.

And that's the SANE situation.

Here's the other situation, regarding the other two teams, a complex arrangement between them, and, frankly, some things I think should result in numerous criminal charges.

Renegades (NA LCS) and Team Dragon Knights (NA CS).

• The first charge was a team ownership issue.  Christopher Mykles, an owner of Renegades, at least in part, was found to have had an arrangement with Chris Badawi that, as of the end of 2016, he would have half ownership of the team.
• This presents a massive illegality:  Badawi was banned from such a position for tampering in June of 2015, after he approached two players under contract to another team.  For this offense, he was banned from any such position (or any such agreement to a position, which Riot declares the same thing) until, at minimum, January 1, 2017.  In fact, Mykles, who is a prominent broadcaster of international League matches (and I'll get to that in a bit!), had to become the owner of the team to prevent disqualification under Badawi's FIRST suspension.
• The second charge was a "Player Safety" charge, and left very murky under the ruling to protect the players involved.  Badawi apparently had significant contact with the team, even while banned from his tampering offense.  Moreover, during this contact, he attempted to breach contracts and payment agreements and was accused of creating an unsafe environment for players on Renegades.
• It's this last charge that may, on top of everything else, be most damning.  Maria "Revelia" Creveling of Renegades was not only the first female player to make it to the major leagues of League of Legends, she was also the first professional League transgender player as well.  (Link provided to indicate this is known information in the e-sports community.)
• She played six matches in the 2016 spring split, but departed the team on March 8, and it is now believed/rumored that bigoted mistreatment of Creveling by Badawi and possibly other parties in Renegades was the cause, and the reference made to player safety in the eventual ruling.
• The third charge may even add additional criminality to the issue, and involves NA CS team The Dragon Knights.  A very mysterious and suspicious trade was made between Renegades and Dragon Knights just before Creveling left the squad -- and it was a trade that many felt was meant to stack Renegades at the expense of the Challenger team.  This prompted Riot to ask many questions of the two teams regarding independence...
• ... which Riot ruled were answered either incompletely or falsely, to hide the relationship between the two teams.  There was also an apparent arrangement that Renegades would continue to house and pay the two members traded to Dragon Knights, another illegality.

For this:

• Chris Badawi is the first person, to my knowledge, in the history of League of Legends to receive a permanent life ban from the sport, in all capacities.  And I don't think this is nearly enough.  He may well have committed criminal offenses simply by his association during his banishment, he probably has committed criminal offenses through his administrative misconduct during his banishment (the contracts and payment agreement breaches), and he certainly has committed criminal offenses if what is rumored having done to Creveling was done, especially by Badawi.  In any event, he needs to be put in handcuffs.  Now.
• Both ownership groups were given until May 18 at midnight PDT to sell their interests and divest, similarly to Impulse.  As of writing, the Renegades spot has been approved sold to Team EnVyUs, who has signed a number of the Renegades.  This was almost-certainly a condition of the sale, however Creveling is not one of them.  She has not reemerged anywhere on the professional scene.  Dragon Knights is not sold as of writing.
• This is not the first rodeo for the ownership of Team Dragon Knights.  Chris Shim was actually already banned from any official position with any team for 2016 and had to sell his stake in Dragon Knights so they could stay in the Challenger Series (about the same penalty Badawi had, and for the same reason (tampering)).  As a result of the further offenses, Chris and (I assume) his brother Sean are both banned from League of Legends entirely until, at minimum, January 1, 2019.  Why is Chris Shim not given the same life ban Badawi got?  Riot claims "possibility of reform", I don't see it.
• Christopher Mykles has the most puzzling of situations, so it has to be explained carefully, and I'll explain why it's bullshit.  Mykles is officially banned one year (start of this summer split to start of next summer split) "from holding any ownership or Riot-recognized position (including GM, team coach or team analyst) with any team in a Riot-sanctioned league."  The banishment specifically does NOT cover his broadcasting work on Korean League tournaments and matches.  And if you believe that's a valid decision, I've got a bridge to sell you somewhere in the Sahara Desert.  I've always held the position that a banned entity has no place representing the game or sport in which he or she is banned in any broadcasting/representative capacity.  Mykles is one of the most well-known casters in the world of League of Legends.  I have no dispute of this.  This is why he needed to have been held in a higher standard than other players and owners -- and, factually, should be permanently fired from any broadcasting position of a Riot-sanctioned league, even after his ban ends.  Any match, tournament, or league he broadcasts is lessened by his presence -- just as any broadcast, podcast, etc. on a game that involves a banned player is similarly lessened.  Riot punted to Mykles' direct employers at OGN in Korea, and no word has been made yet as to his status for the Korean summer split.  That decision should've been Riot's, and as the sanctioning body for the Korean game as well.  Riot had cover to do it, because all one has to state is that a Riot-sanctioned competition broadcaster is, by definition, a "Riot-recognized position".  Do the right thing, OGN -- FIRE HIS ASS!

And two more complications I will give that indicate Riot went nowhere near far enough, and how compromised the professional situation may be now...

1. Will someone explain to me why Mykles is not thrown out of the e-sport for life for associating with Badawi in the first place?  It takes two to tango!  I have to think, at this point, his fame as a broadcaster is the only reason he may even be allowed to remain in the sport in any capacity at all!!!  We're already clear you fouled this up by not life-banning at least one of the Shims as well, but there you go...
2. And this has been accentuated by a story largely buried under the radar (but Brian Tuohy picked it up!!!) ...

Apparently the NGCB doesn't realize that even #esports has had its share of match fixing problems overseas as well. https://t.co/yIRc7JpJ9C

— Brian Tuohy (@TheFixIsInTuohy) May 16, 2016

Two days ago, sports-law expert Darren Heitner reported that, in light of Las Vegas casinos beginning to want to capitalize on e-sports (both on gambling and as e-sports destinations), the head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has posited nothing in the current law on sportsbooks would make it illegal to gamble on e-sports.

Meaning:  E-sports, at least with respect to the head of the NGCB, IS "sports"!

OK, follow me on this one, because there's another wrinkle to this Renegades-Dragon Knights fiasco.

As I said before, part of the issue was questions on the independence of the two teams, including and up to illegal comingling of funds and of other player amenities.

This is important to the declaration of "Is e-sports 'sports'?" because of a very real fact:  The two teams actually played a promotion match in the 2016 spring-to-summer split promotion.  After last-placed LCS team Dignitas was relegated by third-place CS team Dragon Knights (for which Dignitas was eventually bought out by Apex Gaming, who won promotion later in the tournament to the LCS -- so Apex now has a team in each bracket), Dragon Knights faced Renegades in a match in which the winner would remain/promote to the LCS -- the loser would have to play another match to determine whether they went up or down.

Renegades won, Dragon Knights lost twice.

Now go back to the "independence of teams" issue I raised above, and ask yourself a very real question:

If e-sports is "sports", would this not represent a possible/probable case of Sports Bribery under US Federal law?

Riot, you got more work to do, and it may be "more" more than you think!!!