Cloud9 terminate contracts of JT, motm, Sonic, and T.c for COVID-19 contract violations
Dust2.us and Rush B Media have learned that Cloud9 have terminated the contracts of Johnny "JT" Theodosiou, Ian "motm" Hardy, Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek, and Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen following a violation of their contracts due to inviting unauthorized guests during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sources say that the incident that led to the termination of contracts came after a player invited a guest to the team house, violating a clause in the company’s COVID-19 policy in their players’ handbook. The team had previously received written and verbal warnings regarding inviting guests to their house without permission, with the second violation of the same clause now resulting in the termination of the quartet’s contracts.
When contacted by Dust2.us and Rush B Media, Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne said the following regarding the termination of the players:
The details that really matter is this was the second offence of unauthorized guests coming into Cloud9 property after being told that this is not all acceptable. And the reason it is not acceptable is because you are putting our staff at risk.
The coronavirus pandemic has had an immense impact on the United States, with 8.4 million cases and 223,393 deaths being reported to date. The former Cloud9 quartet are based in Los Angeles County, which has had the most infections and deaths of any county in the country with 296,821 infections and 6,974 deaths at the time of publication.
The four members were informed that they must move to a new accommodation by the end of the day — Saturday, October 24th — which was found and paid for by Cloud9 through Monday, October 26th. Cloud9 told Rush B Media and Dust2.us that the organization was willing to move the players’ belongings to the new accommodations, or that they would work with the former players on how best to proceed.
Notably, Josh “oSee” Ohm is not included among the players who were released from their contracts as he does not reside at the team house, absolving him of responsibility in the situation.
With the players entering free agency, the P-1 visas for the South African members are set to expire within 30 days, unless they are signed by another American organization. Following the expiration of their P-1 visas, the players must return to their home country.
The now released ex-Cloud9 roster consisted of the following players:
Johnny “JT” Theodosiou
Ian “motm” Hardy- Aran “Sonic” Groesbeek
- Tiaan “T.c” Coertzen (Coach)
ex-Cloud9 currently have no events scheduled, but the lineup would receive an invite to the next RMR event, which Valve has there will be more of in the coming months.
