Riot Wants Echo Fox to Take Action Against Investor Who Made Racist Remarks

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), which is owned by developer Riot Games, wants team Echo Fox to take action against an investor who allegedly used racist language in an email exchange.

Last month, owner Rick Fox announced plans to leave the esports organization following an incident involving Amit Raizada, a founding partner of investor Vision Venture Partners. Fox claimed Raizada used the n-word in an email exchange to describe former Echo Fox CEO Jace Hall, according to a Dexerto report. It apparently wasn’t the first time Raizada used such language when speaking about both Hall and Fox.

“Most shareholders have tried to ignore this in the hope it goes away and this has forced Rick’s hand to leave,” one source told Dexerto. “He obviously isn’t going to stand for that and was hoping the matter would be addressed on a shareholder level rather than just swept under the carpet.”

The report prompted the LCS to launch a preliminary investigation into Raizada’s comments. On Wednesday, LCS commissioner Chris Greeley tweeted that hate speech, threats, and bigotry have no place in the league, and he wants Echo Fox to take “appropriate corrective action” within 60 days.

“If Echo Fox does not take action by removing any individuals whose actions violate league rules and agreements within the required time period, the league will take formal action that may adversely impact the future of Echo Fox in the LCS,” he added.

Fox bought “League of Legends” team Gravity Gaming for about $1 million and re-branded it as Echo Fox in late 2015. The team made its LCS debut a year later.