Follow up on allegations from July 23
Casey Al-kaisy @ 2019-08-21 12:56:07 +0200To our fans and to the esports community: We are taking the allegations towards our organization very seriously, and have spent a significant amount of time reviewing and resolving any outstanding issues from the past. Through our review, we have found that several allegations have been presented incorrectly without the full context. However, we understand that putting it into context is challenging as we have not been open and transparent about what happened during 2014-2016, leading up to the management and ownership changes in 2016.
Our communication channels have been open for the past three weeks to anyone who feels they were mistreated by the organization dating all the way back to 2014. Additionally, we have made every effort to reach out to those who have expressed concerns. Our main focus has been to review and resolve every case that has been brought to our attention. As of today, this process has resulted in a total of ten cases with people reaching out to us. We have resolved 9 of the cases, and working on finalizing the last case we have on hand.
We will still keep all our channels open, for anyone that feels they have been wronged throughout the history of Ninjas in Pyjamas, to reach out. We welcome your outreach and want to engage in a productive dialogue to resolve any outstanding issues. We want to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to former players, employees and volunteers who have felt mistreated, and will be developing better internal processes and work methodology going forward for a better NIP.
The history of Ninjas in Pyjamas has been shaky through different ownership and management, and we are committed to improving our professionalism and leadership. We are learning from the mistakes done in the past by the management, to ensure they do not repeat themselves in the future.
Complying with WESA and the review
Today, WESA announced their intention to complete a compliance review of NiP, which will take a look at recent comments and interview current and former players and employees. The compliance review will be done by an independent third party, Ian Smith, Integrity Commissioner at the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC).
When we joined WESA along with our fellow teams, we signed a Code of Conduct and compliance framework that we take very seriously. We welcome WESA’s investigation and will work with them to ensure it is as thorough as possible, including providing access to records, documents and individuals as needed. As per WESA procedures, this investigation will be held independently and the findings will be made public at its conclusion.
We value our membership in WESA, and pledge to share any findings openly and honestly - as well as to abide by any decisions made as a result of this investigation. As we said in our first statement, our priority is to make sure that we’ve addressed any unresolved issues, whether they happened early in our history or more recently. We hope that this investigation goes some way to helping us achieve that goal.
The Future
As we are going through the process of resolving issues from the past, we are forever grateful for the support we have received throughout the history of NiP from dedicated fans and our industry colleagues. We are embarking on a new chapter of Ninjas in Pyjamas: With new investors and increased resources, welcoming new hires to strengthen the management team and organization, opening our new player training facilities to better support our players competitively, and increasing our investments into our brand and fans.
Next year is our 20th anniversary and we are excited for a year of celebration, amazing fan experiences and trophy lifting. We are looking forward to the future and to work on restoring the trust that has been shaken.
Sincerely,
Ninjas in Pyjamas