A former head coach of Rising Hope, Jehiel, has accused another coach, Simons, of harassing the organization’s all-female VALORANT team and exposing himself during a Discord call. As a result, the entire team has left the organization.
In a Twitlonger post on October 9, Jehiel claimed that Simons would shout inappropriate comments and request to see explicit content from team members, even in the presence of other employees. Despite being asked to stop, Simons continued to make these remarks.
Jehiel worked alongside Simons and claimed to have warned him multiple times about his behavior.
Despite the allegations, Simons has not been removed from the organization.
In the Twitlonger, Jehiel detailed a specific incident in which Simons acted inappropriately during scrims while visibly intoxicated. It was alleged that he switched on his camera and exposed himself to the players and coaches in the VALORANT squad.
After reporting the incident to Rising Hope co-owner Lazar and threatening to leave the organization, Jehiel stated that initially, Lazar wanted to keep Simons on the team due to his status as a “big star.” However, Lazar eventually decided that Simons would not be a part of the coaching roster in the future.
The flashing incident reportedly occurred on September 27, 2022, and the team announced their departure on October 5, 2022. Despite Lazar’s claim that Simons would be removed, there has been no change to his position in the squad.
The Rising Hope team, including Jehiel, left the organization on October 5. The org thanked them for their contributions.
Jehiel expressed her trauma and sleepless nights due to the incident. Ultimately, the VALORANT team unanimously decided to leave Rising Hope because of the alleged actions of Simons.
There have also been rumors of Simons failing to pay players their tournament winnings after hosting a tournament with a $3,000 prize pool in 2020.
Despite these allegations, Simons remains a part of the roster and is involved in forming the new lineup.
Update Oct. 14, 6.53pm CT: Rising Hope owner Lazar stated that Simons is no longer a member of the organization after conducting an internal investigation.
The Rising Hope Twitter account responded, acknowledging that some members of the organization withheld information from management regarding the incident.
They later announced that those involved in the incident were fined and assured readers that Simons is no longer associated with the company.