This was very shocking to read. I normally dislike giving attention to and responding to things like this but I feel it is necessary to clear up the misconceptions. Since this is directed at me, it is important as the person responsible for this team to address these allegations. I want our team to be transparent with our fans and the public. The majority of the statements in the article are hurtful and grossly false, some being partially true but twisted to fit an agenda/narrative that isn’t true.

Information provided to VPEsports suggested that Chris “HuK” Loranger, Boston Uprising’s President of Gaming, was responsible for developing a divided team infrastructure by attempting to separate the Korean and non-Korean players and subsequently assign instructional and player management responsibilities to different staff members.

Crusty was given more say/input over the Korean side of the team due to language barriers and the fact that he had an established relationship with some players he had worked with before. Naturally, Crusty was culturally closer to the Korean players than the Western players. However we as a team and staff always discussed things as a group and worked together as a group. Players were never separated, we did every vod review, every coaching session, every team address — as a group. It is unfathomable the team could have succeeded and accomplished what it did in any other way.

Eventually, Loranger would try to rectify and attempt to unify the team, but D.Park would still have to regularly pull the Korean players aside to calm down the situation. As D.Park left for the San Francisco Shock after the third stage, the team was left with only Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh to translate, and the situation escalated further; a translator was only brought in mid-way through the fourth stage.

We had a translator with us who was full time and was hired on at the beginning of the year. After he left part way through the year, we did hire a new translator who we still have with us today. Gamsu did help clarify from time to time (simply because it is easier as a pro to explain complex game issues if the translation doesn’t align) if he wanted, but he was no way, shape, or form tasked to do that or was it a regular occurrence.

Woo-yeol “Kalios” Shin, said to be upset with the circumstances and his role within the team, would frequently disrupt practice and berate the coaching staff. As a result, team management reportedly banned him from the practice facility altogether. Sources also noted that Nam-joo “Striker” Kwon left the practice room out of frustration during active scrim blocks, repeatedly damaged computer peripherals, and later requested a transfer from the team. Many team members were reportedly unhappy with Kwon, and sources stated that the player “rage quit at least a scrim per week,” and even told Loranger that he refuses to play for the team next season.

Kalios/Striker — I do not believe in airing internal team issues. Kalios and Striker both are great players, young, passionate, and very driven. In sports management there are a lot young guys with a lot of personalities who are put under a lot of stress and only want to succeed which can cause tensions from time to time. I do not think that our team issues in Season 1 are unlike or any different then most other teams in the League. The season was truly grueling, all of our players worked their butts off, and from time to time there was tension between player to player or player to staff. We talked, worked through it, and overcame. Once again, no one is perfect and it only is improved if you work towards it collectively, which we did.

Loranger granted Kwon and other players the opportunity to trial elsewhere over the summer. However, when interested parties came forward to inquire about buyout fees for Kwon and others, Boston requested compensation in excess of five times the players’ salaries, which has potentially barred some from finding new opportunities. Other sources around the league confirmed that, in comparable situations, top-performing players who carried similar price tags with respect to buyout fees typically received salary adjustments from their respective teams during or after the season. In other cases, teams allowed players to renegotiate their contracts altogether, this in order to better reflect a player’s perceived value.

We as a team have always had an open door policy when it comes to discussing trades. From our star players to our subs. There is no player that is ‘off-limits’. I am always willing to talk through and explore options, whether that is trades or who we scout/pick up/sign. I take pride in the fact that we are willing to take risks other teams aren’t.

VPEsports also learned that Uprising players have been displeased with their contracts, and more specifically, with their salary figures. According to sources, most players have been earning wages that are very close to the league minimum, and Boston was allegedly one of the only teams from the first season that did not look to re-up or renegotiate salaries with its returning players this summer despite having made league playoffs.

Buyouts/trades is something I obviously cannot be fully transparent about, but I believe we are well within/below what is market price, and the article is inaccurate with where they place us (5x salary). Generally speaking a player’s opinion does come into play during these conversations and we do our best to help players be somewhere they are going to be happy if we can.

Contracts once again is something I cannot be fully transparent about. I take pride in the fact that we found the guys that we did and brought them into to OWL. Our players had 0 interest and 0 offers from other teams year one. Despite that, and having all the leverage, not one of our players were on the bare minimal salary. Not because we couldn’t sign them for that, but because we were already coming in as the unknown/underdogs and I didn’t want them to feel like they weren’t worth more. It is true that our year 1 players were on 1+1 options. Some players were released, some have started discussing potentially moving to a coaching position in the future, some extending, some might only be with us another year.

Sources frequently pointed to Loranger’s approach to management as the root of many internal team issues. On one occasion, a staff member was made to cry in front of the team after an abrasive Loranger had verbally attacked them over a “minor mistake.” In response, the team asked Loranger to take a step back during the mid-season and give up more responsibilities to Da-hee “Crusty” Park and assistant coach Jackson “Shake” Kaplan.

I never verbally ‘attacked’ anyone, and no one cried in front of the team. Actually Striker did once, but it was for very different reasons on Stage.

In another incident, it was alleged that Loranger failed to notify player Stanislov “Mistakes” Danilov of the organization’s decision to pass on his second-year team option. According to sources, Danilov was very much under the impression that he was going to be retained by the team and that “all signs pointed to him being resigned.” However, the player only learned of his release via the Uprising’s post on Twitter. Further, it was shared that Loranger refused to compensate Danilov for the price of his plane ticket home: an actual legal requirement for many employment-based visa classifications, and a common courtesy afforded to legal foreign workers in others. Loranger also gave Danilov two-to-three weeks to vacate his apartment and either return home or find an alternate living arrangement.

Mistakes was fully aware where we stood as far as him prior to the season ending. We had numerous conversations leading up to the end of the year that we were on the fence about picking up his option. During the off-season we had a final heart to heart conversation where I was very honest with him that if he wanted to stay, was going to work hard, and was going to help that we would be happy to have him back and pick up his option. Stanislov said that he would prefer to be released and that he thought he could do better somewhere else, so we released him.

We paid for his flight back to Europe.

It saddens me this was posted. It obviously came from someone with knowledge from within the team, and also from someone who is disgruntled with me personally. As President/GM roster decisions and who starts is ultimately up to me, and to the person who put this out there I am sorry that you feel like you didn’t get more than what you felt you deserved. I hope you realize though it takes away from everything the team accomplished despite coming into the Season as such big underdogs, casting a dark cloud over the past season. Ultimately you are right I am the person responsible for this team, players, coaches, and staff. I worked and work very hard to put everyone in the best position possible to succeed and grow both as people and players. I hate that not only do I have to defend internal, private, team dynamics, but also my character and person as a whole. Was the season perfect with no issues, qualms, or complaints? No. Do I think our season looked anything different than most teams in the League? No. Regardless as the person responsible for this team and someone who cares deeply about every player, coach, and staff I owed everyone the truth. Going forward, as always, we will continue to work to improve. As always, I and we at Boston Uprising welcome the challenge to prove the doubters wrong.

I will not be commenting further on this.

Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes, as usual with these things people jump to conclusions and grab pitchforks. As this caught me off guard in the middle of other work, I rushed as quickly as I could to get this out.

Thank you,

Chris Loranger

President of Gaming