One of the biggest names in esports in North America at the end of the 2010s and the start of the 2020s was Jay “Sinatraa” Won. He was a highly decorated professional Overwatch player, with multiple Overwatch Leagues and an MVP to his name, before switching to Valorant and finding success too. However, this was all marred by sexual assault allegations levied against the esports star, allegations that have never really cleared despite investigations from local authorities and even Riot Games.
The allegations were made back in early 2021 and soon led to Sinatraa being suspended from competitive Valorant. As nothing of substance seemed to mount from the investigations, he looked to return to the competitive world in 2022 to no significant avail, and now, two years after this, he has taken to social media to issue his full statement on the situation.
While you can read the lengthy statement below, some of the key points include that Sinatraa still refutes the allegations and that his banning for refusing to cooperate came as he assumed the person making allegations would present the video that supposedly served as evidence and that he didn’t need to. He also claims that the ban was prejudicial and that Riot’s head of esports Alex Francois liked a post about the investigation before it started and that “it seems like his mind was made up already.”
He sounds off towards the end by stating: “The only thing i’m really bummed out about is the negative affect situations like mine can have on real survivors with real stories. I genuinely hope situations like mine don’t discourage survivors of abuse/sexual assault. If you’re a survivor I hope you’re able to share your story and be heard because evil needs to be exposed.”