Last week, DetonatioN FocusMe (DFM), Japan’s most prominent esports organization, confirmed that its top laner, Haruki “tol2” Shibata, was potentially threatened by team coaches.

The revelation comes after tol2 accused the organization of intimidation and subsequently fled the team’s gaming house on July 6. The organization addressed the situation in a statement released on July 7.

Source: Flickr | Photo by Joe Brady

DFM, after conducting interviews with the involved parties and verifying the facts, acknowledged tol2’s accusations. The organization admitted that two of its coaches, Kazuta “Kazu” Suzuki and Kyohei “Ceros” Yoshida, made statements that could be construed as threats. As a consequence, both Kazu and Ceros were immediately dismissed from their positions.

The organization has pledged to enhance its efforts to improve internal communication within the team. It also recognized that tol2 is grappling with mental health issues. The statement added,

“The situation with tol2 has not improved sufficiently, and he is mentally and physically unwell.”

However, it was noted that as of May 2023, when tol2 was struggling during MSI 2023, the team was not aware of any disorder.

Bad contract leads to fines

DFM has committed to preparing a support system that caters not only to the physical condition of the players but also to their mental well-being. This commitment comes in light of tol2’s allegations of verbal abuse from the coaches, which he reported to the upper management. In response, tol2 was allegedly fined by DFM’s CEO Nobuyuki Umezaki and warned that he could be removed from the team.

The organization confirmed that a fine of 300,000 yen was indeed imposed on tol2, but it was not for reporting the abuse. Instead, it was for breaching his contract in June 2023 by communicating with a third party. In the wake of this controversy, DFM plans to hold discussions with tol2, other players, LJL officials, and management.

The penalty is also set to be reduced, according to the statement.

It seems that the entire DFM contract was set up in such a way that a player cannot reach out for external support in the case of mismanagement or bad practices. At least not without being in breach of contract. This would result in most abuses of power never getting reported outside the organization, a trend we see way too often across the board with esports contracts.

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