Former Griffin coach Kim "cvMax" Dae-ho has formally pled "not guilty" after being accused of abusing players on the roster.
League of Legends pros Choi "Sword" Sun-won and Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong alleged that cvMax was verbally abusive to them, grabbed them by their shirt collars, and threw things at them in anger. This led Riot Games Korea to suspend cvMax for two years, a decision the developer later rescinded following community backlash.
But Sword also filed a police report against cvMax. This has led to a series of five trials in which cvMax continued to claim his innocence. Since the legal process is still underway, cvMax's attorney called on the Korean Esports Fair Commission to lift its five-month suspension.
"The trial is still in progress and I don't understand why the Commission was in such a hurry to penalize cvMax," attorney Lim Sang-hyeok said.
After five trials, cvMax is set to hear the final verdict from the court in February. The Fair Esports Commission stated that the verdict will not affect his five-month suspension.
Inven Global obtained the full transcript of cvMax's trial. The coach's attorney brought up the effective results of cvMax's coaching style while the prosecution wanted to know if cvMax's aggression towards the players had become physical. They even asked cvMax if other head coaches shook players or hit their chairs while giving feedback.
cvMax's attorney's closing statement brought up that Sword continued to be close to cvMax despite the abuse accusations. He even brought up that cvMax and Sword had a phone call on September 9, two months before the lawsuit. He also noted that Sword had never said the feedback was "inappropriate."
Sang-hyeok explained that Sword only sued cvMax because of director Cho Gyu-nam. After Sword was criticized by fans regarding the situation, the director worked with the players to "lie" and "create conflicts" with cvMax.
“The accused did not exceed the boundary of rational coaching methods. This is clear as the accused was always close with the players, including the victim," Sang-hyeok concluded.
Coach cvMax argues against Griffin accusations
cvMax also had a chance to make a final statement in the last trial. He said that he cared for the players during the two years he was their coach on Griffin. He also noted that it was a "shame" the situation had come to this, blaming the team director's "manipulation."
“I am good at communicating, interacting, and getting along with others, and I’ve proved myself by getting to the highest point with those abilities. But it really hurts my pride that he sued me, that my feedback — which I feel proud about — is assault. Even so, there should have been things I lacked, so I’ll review myself further and improve my feedback in the future," cvMax said.
cvMax and DRX are continuing to fight against the Fair Esports Commission's five-month ban.
