Wright Games says it has found “no evidence” of wrongdoing in the third-party investigation it has launched into CEO Niccolo Lure Rent, and its own special committee recommends that no action be taken against it. An investigation was called by Wright Games after a lawsuit was filed against Lure Rent and the company in January alleging that he harassed an employee and that Wright Games fired him when he complained. The case is ongoing.
Laurent’s conduct was investigated by external law firm Sefarth Shaw LLP, which presented its findings to a three-person special committee at the Wright Games. The special committee, set up by the Washington Post, includes Yingme Moon, a board member of Riot Games, and two C-level male officials from Tencent, the owner of Riot Games.
Riot Games released a special committee statement today, claiming that they acted “independently of management” and reviewed the investigation results. “These statements will be hard for any company to trust, and paying third-party law does not change that. We also have no way of knowing what is involved in the Saferth show investigation.
The legal complaint against Riot Games and Lure Rent was brought by former executive assistant Sharon O’Donnell, who was fired from her role in the Riot Games in July 2020. According to a report by Vice last month, the lawsuit alleges that Laurent told O’Donnell “cum” going to his house while his wife was away, telling him to travel with her outside of work, and to be more feminine and his Asked to see the tone.
O’Donnell has claimed that he lodged a complaint with the HR department of Ranter Games about Lure Rent’s behavior and its termination in relation to those complaints. “Seven months ago, the plaintiff was fired from the company on the basis of a complaint by several people about several documents. Any other suggestion is simply false,” Wright Games said in a statement to Vice last month.
A statement from Wright’s special committee today said that after reviewing the results of the third-party investigation, they had “concluded that Lure Rent had no evidence of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation against the plaintiff” and that “no action should be taken against Lure Rent.”
The rioters themselves also published a short letter with Lent Rent’s statement, both available at the same link. L’Rant, who continued to work in the role of CEO during the investigation, noted in his statement that the company was “exploring legal options.” The rioters filed a request in Los Angeles County Superior Court the same day to expedite court proceedings and move the case to arbitration.
With the exception of the obvious difficulty of examining oneself impartially – even if you hire an outside company – the riot lacks credibility in this regard due to previous allegations of sexuality in the workplace which was first detailed in a lengthy 2018 report by Kotku. They are still embroiled in legal proceedings on the issue. In 2019, Wright Games employees walked out of their Los Angeles studio to protest the company’s use of “forced arbitration” in resolving sexual harassment claims. Earlier this week, Alienware canceled a ten-month sponsorship deal with League of Legends, anonymous sources told DotSports that Alienware was cited with concerns about the company’s public image.
