Riot Games COO Suspended Following Sexual Harassment Investigation

League of Legends developer and publisher Riot Games is again making news for all the wrong reasons, after the company allegedly suspended COO Scott Gelb for inappropriate workplace behavior. The news comes from Kotaku, who reportedly received notification that Gelb had been suspended “after multiple employees alleged that, as a comedy bit, he has repeatedly touched subordinates’ balls or butt or farted in their faces.”

Kotaku originally published the report that blew the lid on Riot Games’ and the alleged “bro-culture” that had caused several resignations from the company. In that report, one name that repeatedly came up was Scott Gelb, who was repeatedly accused of inappropriate behavior to both male and female employees.

In the email surrounding Gelb’s suspension, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent indicated that while the results of the internal investigations would not be made public, the board of directors wanted the punishment to be “highly visible”. In that same email, Laurent described many of the allegations against Gelb to be “untrue”, however evidence would suggest that enough was in fact true to warrant the punishment doled out.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to evolving our culture, we are thoroughly investigating all claims through our established process,” announced the developer. “Per this process, outside legal counsel undertook an investigation of allegations about Scott Gelb. After carefully reviewing and considering the findings, the Special Committee of Riot’s Board of Directors determined that a two-month, unpaid leave of absence, along with training, was the appropriate action given the allegations that were substantiated. We can also confirm that many of the rumors circulating about Scott within the company, the media, and other channels were actually not true.”