The competitive Rainbow Six Siege community has come to the support of a Team Secret player after the CEO of his team released him and criticized him for showing emotion after a loss. Numerous players and personalities are now calling out the CEO for their behavior.
Team Secret CEO’s Actions Uncover the Need to Talk About Mental Health
After being released by Team Secret following a group stage elimination at The Six Invitational, Australian player Jake “Virtue” Grannan posted on X that the move caught him by surprise. “Didn’t see this coming at all, after all the energy and work that I’ve been putting in,” he wrote. “One bad tournament has now lead me to be LFT [looking for team].”
However, a day later, Virtue and almost the entire Siege community were stunned by a reply to this post made by Secret CEO John Yao. Yao shared a screenshot of the team after they were eliminated, showing Virtue facing away from the group. The caption reads: “I am also very surprised.”
This reply, which appears to disparage Virtue, has drawn the ire of several members of the Siege community. Virtue confirmed that he was very emotional, that he was “almost crying,” and that he “couldn’t look at anyone” after a bad series. Some of the game’s biggest stars came to Virtue’s defense, including M80’s Leonardo “Kyno” Figueiredo and DarkZero’s Jason “Beaulo” Doty. The replies and quote reposts are littered with players, casters, coaches, and others criticizing Yao and defending Virtue.
While many are clearly upset about Yao’s comments, they have at least opened the door for a greater conversation about men’s mental health. It’s okay to cry, and it’s okay to cry in front of others.
Did the Team Secret CEO cross the line? Should mental health become a bigger talking point in esports? Let us know down below and on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out our coverage of G2’s elimination at SI 2025.
No replies yet
Loading new replies...
Join the full discussion at the Insider Gaming Forums →