Former Golden Guardians coach Choi "Locodoco" Yoon-seop issued a statement on Monday regarding his release from the League of Legends team earlier this month.
"I would like to thank Golden Guardians for giving me the opportunity as their head coach," Choi said in a statement. "While short, it was an extremely good learning opportunity. I learned a lot from working under Kirk [Lacob] and Hunter [Leigh] and felt a lot of personal development, even in the short period I was working under them."
On Feb. 4, ESPN reported that Choi had been relieved of his duties due to an inappropriate remark made to a female member of Riot Games staff at the North American League Championship Series. Choi said he disputes media reports, stating that those stories did not portray the "whole and complete story" and apologized for the incident.
"During February, I did an interview in connection with the NA LCS." he explained. "I was nervous going into the interview, and, in a lapse of judgement, shared a personal story to break tension in the room. Although it wasn't a sexually explicit story, it was completely inappropriate in a professional setting and I regretted it immediately.
"It's important to understand saying anything that can remotely be construed or interpreted as sexual harassment simply cannot be allowed for a person in my position. Even if it was never my intention, I fully understand the decision to release me."
Choi was hired by the Guardians, the League of Legends team backed by the Golden State Warriors, in November following their acceptance into the NA LCS. He was among the team's first esports hires, alongside Leigh, a former Yahoo Esports employee, whom the Warriors hired as their head of esports.
Choi was replaced by Tyler Perron, the team's assistant coach who now serves with an interim head coach title. Under Perron's direction, the Guardians notched their only three wins of the season against 100 Thieves, Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming. The team has an overall record of 3-9, tied for last in the league with Counter Logic Gaming.