Erik DoA Lonnquist · @ggDoA
4th Jun 2015 from TwitLonger
Quick thoughts on a section of the Deficio ruling -
Deficio shouldn't have been courting other contracted players for CW while working as an LCS caster. That's obvious and that's what I'd imagine the punishment being doled out to him is appropriately based on. There is one part of the ruling that bothered me though.
Riot suggesting that their employees should feel obligated to report job offers to them is a bit disturbing and can potentially lead to some pretty bad situations for anyone who works there, just as it would in any other company. There are clear dangers to an employee in reporting their job offers and no risk for the company, which is why it's generally (generally always) not done. Think about why you wouldn't be inclined to tell your boss about job offers you get.
While conflicts of interest certainly can be a concern in situations like this between a Riot's casters and LCS teams, this isn't Minority Report and Riot doesn't have a Department of Pre-Crime yet as far as I know. Riot can't put their employees, casters or otherwise, at personal risk because of wrongs they think they might happen to commit in the future. If a caster (or any other LCS-affiliated employee) -accepts- an offer to go from Riot to an LCS organisation in some sort of coaching/advising capacity it's perfectly reasonable for the league to take steps -at that time- to make sure information given to that caster previously by other teams isn't used unfairly. Unfortunately, based on Riot's statement, Deficio appears to have stepped out of line in this situation, but that isn't a reason to jeopardize other employees' future professional endeavors. I would advise Riot to tread lightly on this matter and judge things on a case-by-case basis rather than trying to hold their employed casters to unreasonable expectations in terms of entertaining jobs outside of the company.