After six months, Riot Games has officially lifted Jay "Sinatraa" Won's suspension from competitive Valorant play. However, a return to his former team, Sentinels, appears highly unlikely.
Sinatraa's ex-girlfriend, Cleo, accused him of sexual misconduct and assault in a detailed post. She shared an audio clip from an intimate moment where she said "No" while trying to stop him, but he continued, saying "I'm close." Cleo detailed further instances of mental and sexual misconduct. Sinatraa responded:
"It's clear from Cleo's recent post that she remembers our relationship differently than I do. What we agree on is that this was unhealthy for both of us. I apologize to Cleo and regret how things ended, but I never attacked her in any way. I fully cooperate with investigations and provide the full audio and video clips Cleo mentioned in his post."
He recently hinted at a comeback via his current girlfriend and public Valorant streams, while labeling the accusations "a lie."
Related: Valorant: Sinatraa was banned for 6 months without cooperating with the investigation.
Despite Sinatraa's claims of full cooperation and providing clips, Riot stated otherwise. Both Riot and Sentinels launched investigations. Riot's official statement explained:
"After learning of the sexual assault allegations against Jay “Sinatraa” Won, VALORANT Esports immediately initiated an investigation into the matter. Sexual assault allegations are some of the most serious that can be made against an individual and the Competitive Operations team treats all such allegations with the seriousness they deserve. To conduct the investigation, the Competitive Operations team partnered with Riot's investigative team to begin an objective and neutral fact-gathering exercise to assess whether Sinatraa's behavior conflicted with the VCT Global Competition Policy."
"During fact-gathering, the Competitive Operations team was informed that the matter had been referred to law enforcement. At this point, we defer to the authorities for further investigation and factual findings related to the allegations."
"While the investigation did not reach a definitive conclusion on the underlying allegations, the Competitive Operations team had serious concerns about Sinatraa's conduct during the investigation. It has been determined that on at least two occasions, Sinatraa misrepresented certain facts, made false statements, and failed to cooperate with the investigation in a manner expected of a professional VALORANT esports player. It should be noted that Sinatraa's public commitment on social media to provide the full audio and video clip referenced in the original post was never fulfilled. Cooperation in these investigations is of the utmost importance, especially when the nature of the allegations is as serious as a sexual assault. This behavior will not be tolerated by VALORANT Esports."
"In the context of a personal relationship, this is an incredibly complicated allegation to investigate and finally resolve. To the extent additional material information comes to light, from law enforcement or otherwise, the Competitive Operations team reserves the right to reopen the investigation and take appropriate action."
Riot concluded:
"Jay "Sinatraa" Won has violated Rule 8.1 of the VALORANT Global Competition Policy and will be suspended for six months (which is deemed to have begun with his administrative suspension on March 10, 2021), if continuing until September 10, 2021 (end of Stage 3 Challenger season and final Masters event). He will be eligible to return for Qualifiers and Last Chance Champions."
"In addition, Won is required to undergo professional driving training before he can return to play."
With the suspension period now complete, Riot has reinstated Sinatraa for competitive play. As Sentinels' ShahZaM noted, the team is content with its current roster, making a Sinatraa return improbable. Even without a ban, the lingering controversy may deter other teams from signing him.
Would you like to see Sinatraa competing in Valorant tournaments again?
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