Riot Games Executive On Leave After Controversial Post About George Floyd

A company can make a statement. But if the people running the company dont feel the same way, it doesnt hold any meaning. Take Riot Games, for example. Only a few days after announcing an investment toward minority-owned game studios, one of the companys executives is put on leave for sharing social media content downplaying the murder of George Floyd.

The executive in question is Ron Johnson, the global head of consumer products for Riot Games. He recently made a post on Facebook, blaming Floyds death on a criminal lifestyle. Riot has responded to the post by placing Johnson on leave and launching an internal investigation.

"We're aware of an offensive social media post made by a Riot employee and have launched an investigation. 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, which we detailed in the commitments we made Friday. While we don't discuss the details of our investigations or their outcomes, we're following our disciplinary process closely and have placed him on leave pending its conclusion."

For those who dont know. The death of George Floyd refers to an instance where Floyd died from a lack of oxygen while under police custody. The officer involved forced his knee into Floyds neck, cutting off air. The scene was caught on film and went viral, acting as a catalyst for the ongoing protests against police brutality.

This is a bad flavor to have in a company, especially with Riot, who not that long ago were under the spotlight for heavily institutionalized sexism in their workplace. While placing Johnson on leave is a good start, we cant imagine it would look very good for them to keep him on their payroll.