After losing his place in the Pro League and speaking out against it on Twitter, former Luminosity Gaming player Kian "Hyena" Mozayani has been banned in-game for a full year.
The in-game ban comes following a bitter fallout between Hyena and Ubisoft after the Luminosity Gaming organisation exited the scene, leaving its roster without a place in the upcoming North American League (NAL).
The story had come to light after Hyena had posted a tweet on the 15th of April, stating "F*** an NDA, parents didn't raise me like that !!".
In that tweet, he had linked a Twitlonger, alleging that Ubisoft had told him and his teammates three weeks ago that Luminosity would be releasing them following a breakdown in talks between Ubisoft and the organisation about the LAN-held NAL.
Following that, the players had to play and practice without being certain if they would be playing in the NAL, with Hyena claiming that Ubisoft delayed meeting with the players multiple times.
Hyena also laid the blame for the situation at the feet of the NCSA esports director, claiming that Ubisoft had not informed the players if they would be able to join the NAL if they found a new organisation.
Bringing these issues to light may have caused Hyena to break a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which possibly carried the penalty of a one-year in-game ban, though it is possible that he may have breached the Code of Conduct due to other reasons.
A day after Hyena's original tweet, Ubisoft released an official statement, confirming that Luminosity Gaming and Evil Geniuses would be leaving the scenes and that the two rosters would not have a place in the NAL.
Team Reciprocity, too, had left the scene, but accustations of partisanship flew as its roster had found a place with another organisation, later revealed to be Oxygen Esports.
Just under two weeks later, Hyena announced that he would be taking an "extended break" from the game, though stated that he could see himself returning if he was given a "crazy offer with a team [he saw] potential in".
However, barring such an offer, he stated that he would be moving back home.
Earlier today, however, he announced that he had received a one-year ban in-game for breaking the Code of Conduct, possibly due to an NDA breach or other undisclosed reasons.
Hyena is not the first Rainbow Six pro to be banned, though is the first to be banned in this specific manner.
SiegeGG's Year 4 Player of the Year, Stéphane "Shaiiko" Lebleu -- now playing for BDS Esport -- had been banned in Season 6 for using a macro, but has since resuscitated his career and finished fourth at the Six Invitational 2020.
Natus Vincere player Jack "Doki" Robertson, too, was banned in-game for a toxcity-related incident, with his ban having lasted from the tail-end of Season 10 of the Pro League to midway through Season 11.
It is unclear if Hyena will be returning to Rainbow Six: Siege in the future, though with his experience and skill it is not impossible he could one day make a comeback like Shaiiko did.