Riot Games’ internal culture has once again come under review as one of their executives is placed on leave for making a post on Facebook victim-blaming George Floyd.
Ron Johnson, the global head of consumer products at Riot, posted on his personal Facebook that George Floyd’s murder “is a learning opportunity for people (and your kids) to teach that this type of criminal lifestyle never results in good things happening to you or those around you.” His post also includes a picture of George Floyd overlaid with right-wing rhetoric and a list of his alleged criminal convictions.
The video of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police officers sparked protests against racial injustice and inequality worldwide. The officer seen kneeling on his neck for nine minutes, which ultimately led to Floyd’s demise, has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Meanwhile, the other officers present during the event were charged with aiding and abetting the murder.
In response to the Facebook post, Johnson has been put on leave, and Riot is launching an investigation into the incident.
“We’ve been made aware of the social media post and have launched an investigation,” Riot told Vice. “We’ll say firmly that the sentiment in that image is abhorrent, against our values, and directly counter to our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate societal change… While we don’t discuss the details of our investigations or their outcomes, we’re following our disciplinary process closely and have placed [Johnson] on leave pending its conclusion.”
Johnson’s Facebook post comes just five days after Riot donated $1 million to The Innocence Project and the American Civil Liberties Union, along with a commitment to invest $10 million in “startup programs focused on founders underrepresented in the games community.”
Riot also established their Social Impact Fund in 2019, which was intended to allow the company to “make direct investments into a variety of global organizations aimed at solving some of the world’s most pressing issues.” Those issues include matters of education, citizenship, and opportunity for underrepresented and oppressed people. They also have a resource group specifically for black employees called Riot Noir, which has aided in improving the company’s inclusivity measures.
All of these motions appear to be marks of a healthy, inclusive company culture. However, Johnson’s Facebook post isn’t the first controversy Riot has faced.
In 2018, Kotaku exposed Riot for its sexist and toxic company culture, which has since led to an ongoing class action lawsuit. When questioned about the allegations, Riot claimed the anecdotes were “explicitly opposite” its company culture, similarly to how they described Johnson’s Facebook post.
Riot’s refusal to disclose the details of their internal investigation in response to Johnson’s post means we may never know how true they are to the values they proclaim. However, there may be more employees coming forward with their stories of working with Riot in the near future.
