Valorant Divides Community Amid Sinatraa Return
Sentinels top player Jay ‘sinatraa’ Won’s plan to return to professional play has divided the community following claims of sexual assault and a six-month suspension from Valorant tournaments.
Jay ‘sinatraa’ Won, a Sentinels star and former OWL poster child, was accused of sexually abusing his ex-girlfriend Cleo ‘cle0h’ Hernandez in early March 2021. For “misrepresented certain facts, making false statements,” and reportedly being uncooperative, the pro player was barred from participating in any Riot Games-hosted Valorant events for six months. Sinatraa denied the charges and emphasized that he had tried to help Riot with their investigation but was unable to give the video he had promised.
Sinatraa stated his plans to return to Valorant on April 12th – maybe under the Sentinels banner – but his statement has divided the community. Sinatraa’s anticipated return to professional play has splintered the game’s professional world as well as the general fandom, as one might expect.
Valorant Champions Tour EMEA caster Matt ‘Twiggy’ Twigg writes in a lengthy tweet; “while Sinatraa is not convicted, you are allowed to think for yourself. Sinatraa failed to co-operate with a Riot investigation into the matter after stating in a public announcement that he had evidence to prove himself innocent. Fewer than 1.7% of SA cases result in conviction. Now I can’t stop you from following him or teams from picking him up. But I do ask that you review the evidence provided by the victim yourself, rather than blindly defending him and repeating benign statements about his ‘legal innocence.’”
Indiana ‘Froskurinn’ Black, a former League of Legends caster, echoed this, adding, “a Valorant pro was accused of sexual assault with audio clips, texts, and personal account. Like most sexual assaults, there was no finalized criminal case. This is apparently completely fine for orgs to now sign him. Is it fine? The orgs are surly gauging PR perception.”
Twitch streamer Michael ‘sonii’ Sherman addressed both statements; “I firmly believe that youthful f**k-ups should not be held over one’s head for decades. We all did dumb shit when we were younger, some worse than others.”
Valorant coach m1cks, on the other hand, claimed that sinatraa had showed neither “genuine remorse” or “willingness to improve and learn.”
Sentinels failed to make the cut for the VCT Masters Stage 1 in Reykjavik. There have already been rumors about a roster restructure in the team, which might allow Sinatraa to return.