Thread by @danielzklein, Okay, we gotta talk about this real quick:https://lolesports.com/article/lec-ends-neom-partnership/bltadb06bbe0a40c6c6I'll start with some context, [...]

Okay, we gotta talk about this real quick:

https://lolesports.com/article/lec-ends-neom-partnership/bltadb06bbe0a40c6c6

I'll start with some context, move on to why I didn't post anything about the original announcement, and we'll finish with PR spin and maybe a dog learning to use a ramp (unrelated)

So here's the context: roughly 14 hours ago, the European League of Legends pro esports league announced their main sponsor for the 2020 summer season would be Neom. Neom's a settlement in the desert that's trying to become the city of tomorrow. Importantly, it's run by MBS

MBS is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He ordered the brutal assassination and dismemberment of Jamal Kashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who was critical of the Saudi regime. Saudi Arabia continues to murder people for being LGBTQ+ etc. Not a good look.

And obviously they're trying to use their money to buy themselves a better image worldwide, particularly with young/tech savvy people (who are likely to be esports fans).

The LEC (the Riot-run EU league) announced this sponsorship hilariously while still rocking a rainbow and trans flag colored avatar. There was a huge outcry.

I've not been with Riot for coming up on two years now, and practically every single one of my Riot friends was screaming about it. This was their battle, so I amplified their voices by RTing lots of stuff. I hear there was a lot of turmoil internally as well over this.

So less than 14h later there is a statement saying they're not going to do this partnership after all. Great, right? Justice served! They listened to their community and their employees! Well, not so fast.

A lot of diversity work is appeasement work. The true goal is to appear aligned with the values of the people who work for you and to occasionally throw them a bone so they can feel less bad about working for you. This isn't always true, but there's an easy way to check:

When money's on the line, do they continue to hold on to their values? This NEOM deal was the clearest test of that. If they hadn't reversed course on this, it would have been an even bigger hit to their brand and their ability to attract and retain talent...

... and other sponsors may have jumped ship. A truly cynical person could make the argument that that loss could still be absorbed by whatever ludicrous amount of money NEOM threw at them, but that's a dangerous gamble.

Anyway, they initially signed the deal because money > values, and backed off it only when serious financial fallout became likely.

Here's my point: a company that truly cares about its LGBTQ+ employees would never have considered this deal. That it was considered and announced shows someone did the math of what not pissing off every queer person at Riot was worth and decided less than what NEOM offered.

There's very few people who truly decide the course of a company, and it's the people who can make financial decisions. All the rainbow flags and donations to LGBTQ+ charities don't change that. And it's only when they truly believe in these values that a company can improve.

So let's look at this statement and see what it tells us about the likelihood that someone truly believes in these values and only needed, I don't know, a massive outcry to be shaken awake.

First, it's signed by the Director of esports, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Asia). At first glance that makes sense: he's likely the person who landed and signed off on that deal, so he should take responsibility. But he speaks for the COMPANY.

Why isn't someone from the C-suite penning this? Plausible deniability. They're keeping this at arm's length, saying effectively "well it was this other overseas office that made the mistake".

We're talking about the main sponsor for the LEC. Riot HQ 100% signed off on this.

Next look at the spin happening here:

"... while we remain steadfastly committed to all of our players and fans worldwide including those living in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East ..."

Do you see it?

Who's talking about players in the Middle East? Did we reject this deal because we, what, hate players from the Middle East? Or was it because this is blood money? Hmm let me think. (Of course there's a bunch of islamophobia going on at the same time)

So all of a sudden this is no longer a question of "do we make deals with murderers" but a question of "do we include our Middle Eastern players", which... miss me with that.

Notice also how the statement says "we made a mistake", but never names the mistake. It vaguely refers to "rifts in the community" (hilariously on brand; rifts? Get it? WILD.) It talks about "moving too quickly to cement this partnership", as if that's the problem.

Let me repeat myself: CONSIDERING this partnership in the first place was the problem. Thinking it's an acceptable thing to do. Everything that comes after that is besides the point.

Final point: internal structures.

Now I have no idea what happened internally; to repeat, I haven't worked for Riot for two years. My friends haven't told me any secrets, nor have I pressed them. But there's two options here:

1) This was brought up internally, feedback was sought and then ignored

2) Everyone was blindsided by this

Pick one of these and tell me how you would "improve the process".

I am certain that internal changes will happen, and I'm certain the goal will be the same as always: appeasement. Saving face. Don't be fooled.

Anyway, thanks for reading. As promised, here's an adorable but not too smart dog learning how to use a ramp: https://twitter.com/remembrancermx/status/1288655407246802944?s=20

https://twitter.com/remembrancermx/status/1288655407246802944?s=20

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