Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won Banned From Valorant Over Noncooperation With Investigation

Riot Games announced it banned Jay "Sinatraa" Won for six months from competing in Valorant after his failure to cooperate with an investigation surrounded sexual assault allegations from a former partner.

The decision was publicized through a post on the official Valorant news page published on Monday, May 17. According to Alex Francois, Valorant's Head of Competitive Operations, Sinatraa "violated Rule 8.1 of the VALORANT Global Competition Policy" by not cooperating with the Tournament Operator's analysis. He is currently suspended from the game for six months and will need to complete a "professional conduct training" course.

Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won Banned from Valorant

Francois explains that the accusation of noncooperation was made based on the fact that "on at least two occasions Sinatraa misrepresented certain facts, made false statements," and did not respond in the manner "expected of a professional VALORANT esports player" by Riot. The post specifically draws attention to his unfulfilled promise to provide the full video from his victim's initial document outlining the abuse.

"Cooperation in these investigations is of the utmost importance, especially when the nature of the allegations is as serious as sexual assault. This behavior will not be tolerated by VALORANT Esports." The post reads, "Sexual assault allegations are some of the most serious that can be levied against an individual and the Competitive Operations Team treats all such claims with the gravity they deserve."

Riot, however, admits their investigation did not come to a "definitive conclusion." Therefore, the matter is being turned over to law enforcement so that proper charges may be brought. However, in the event more evidence is brought to light, the company stated they may reopen their inquiry.

At the time of writing, Sinatraa's ban will carry through to early September. It has been retroactively applied from March 10, 2021 onward.

Sinatraa responded publicly to the announcement via Twitter. In his statement, he apologized both to his victim and his audience. He explained that he has spent the last two months away from the game reflecting on the damage he caused and how to "improve [himself] as a person."

Regarding the missing video, Sinatraa explained that he deleted it following the conclusion of his relationship with the victim per her request.

"As we were drafting up an update with the legal PR team we had added that I would provide the video because we genuinely thought that the video would have to be shared in full," he wrote, "However that did not happen and I should not have promised something I could not personally deliver."

Sinatraa called the entire experience "humbling" and something he "never even imagined." He plans to spend the next four months attempting to "develop a better set of interpersonal skills and to earn back the trust of this community."

There is no word on the status of law enforcement's involvement or their findings at this time.