The Toronto Ultra has released a statement in response to allegations made against the organization earlier this week from Crimsix and other professional Call of Duty players. The organization claims to have paid their players fairly and said the allegations “simply do not align with the facts known to us.”
On Thursday, three-time Call of Duty world champion Crimsix retweeted a clip from a Toronto-based podcast criticizing Loony, a former substitute player for the Toronto Ultra. Crimsix disagreed with statements about Loony not giving the team a reason to keep him on the team and did not deserve his new spot with the Seattle Surge.
Crimsix also shed some light on how Toronto supposedly treated its roster during the inaugural season. He claimed the full roster was forced to stay in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, “threatening to not pay non-starters if they went home.” He also claimed the organization fought with former Toronto substitute Brack over his decision to return home for his grandfather’s open-heart surgery.
Brack confirmed the organization never paid him for the month he returned home and that his time with Toronto severely set back his professional career. Toronto allegedly heard this “excuse” before from Classic, another former player for the team who also needed to return home for his grandfather.
In addition, Crimsix said there are rumors that Toronto wants a 50/50 prize winnings split for its players next season, but will continue “underpaying” its players.
The organization finally responded today with a statement claiming the allegations are not true and to “provide perspective on these false and harmful allegations.”
The statement begins with Brack asking to return home to be with his grandfather, which Toronto allowed him to do so by taking care of his team obligations. Brack was a substitute player during the inaugural season and never played in an official match, so it is unclear what these team obligations included.
Toronto claims to have paid Brack full salary as a “compassionate leave, despite the fact that [they] had no contractual or legal obligation to do so, so that he could be with his loved ones without financial pressure to return to his job.”
The organization further claims Brack became ill during his time at home, which prevented him from returning to Toronto. The Ultra allegedly continued to pay him and provided a “very generous time period” for Brack to provide medical proof of his illness.
Toronto also claims Brack cleared out his living space before returning home, indicating he never intended to return. This prompted Toronto to stop paying Brack as he showed an “unwillingness to cooperate,” and the organization already paid a “significant amount” of compassionate leave.”
The statement ends with Toronto claiming its conduct has been reasonable and even generous in Brack’s case, and that they will stand by the “conduct of our people.” The statement has received a mixed response from the community, with some fans supporting Toronto’s explanation and others criticizing its actions.
It is important to note Crimsix stated each Call of Duty League contract says that organizations cannot force their players to live in a required location to receive a salary. It is unclear what work obligations would have forced Brack to return to Toronto. It is also unclear if Crimsix is correct about the contracts as the CDL has not officially confirmed it.
Brack and Crimsix have not responded to the statement yet, but it will likely continue to be a hot topic.
Published: Sep 27, 2020 12:33 pm