With the controversy surrounding Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney‘s lawsuit continuing to swirl, FaZe Clan CEO Lee Trink has given his side of how everything has transpired.
In the three days since news came out that Tfue had filed a lawsuit against FaZe Clan, the online gaming and esports communities have been treated to drama that will not be forgotten soon.
The latest chapter of this saga comes courtesy of YouTuber Daniel ‘KEEMSTAR’ Keem, who held an interview with Trink in the May 23 episode of his show DramaAlert.
In the interview, Trink claimed that Tfue’s intentions with his lawsuit were not to improve upon the conditions of his contract, but rather to get out of it so he could start his own esports organization.
“He was actually never interested in creating a new deal,” he said. “What he was interested in was creating a competing org. That’s impossible. We’re never going to get there. The [Los Angeles] Lakers don’t let LeBron [James] go create a competing NBA team. It’s just not what we do.”
FaZe Clan CEO Lee Trink believes Tfue’s intentions are to be freed of his contract so that he can create his own org.
Trink also went on to suggest that Tfue had this in mind when FaZe founder Ricky ‘Banks’ Banks took him under his wing and taught him all he knew, claiming that the Fortnite BR star wanted to use that knowledge in planning for his own org.
“It feels like, especially relating to Banks, they sucked Banks dry of every strategy, every tool in the trade, everything that he could possibly do,” he said. “Part of that was taking all of the way we do business, and obviously we’re very good at it, with the idea of creating a competitor. That’s not freedom.”
Trink claims that Tfue used Banks and FaZe for knowledge on how to best build his own esports org.
Trink spent a lot of the interview talking about the great lengths that he and the organization apparently went through in trying to negotiate a new deal for Tfue with his father and lawyer, offering almost everything they could ask for, but hitting a dead end each time.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“I almost want to tell you the lengths we’ve gone to, to try and get a new agreement,” he said. “We basically said ‘tell us what you want, just tell us.’ We were putting money second in the relationship. Literally, we were prepared to put the concept of whether we make money from Tfue on the side, because that’s how much we valued him.”
You can view the entire May 23 episode of KEEMSTAR’s DramaAlert below, with the interview with Lee Trink starting at the 7:39 mark.
Tfue-FaZe Clan lawsuit drama – what we know so far
On May 20, it was revealed that Tfue had filed a lawsuit against FaZe Clan on the basis of an “oppressive” contract, among other things.
Banks, who has been FaZe’s most vocal defender throughout all this, released an emotional video about why he can never forgive Tfue.
The Fortnite BR star responed with a video of his own, which was hi first statement since the drama began, explaining that his aim was to get out of a contract he feels was “bizarre” and “fucked.”
Banks has since admitted that the deal was “horrible,” promising that FaZe will make soon release the contract for all to see, but has also called Tfue a “selfish asshole” for the lawsuit.
Although the contract has not yet been released, it was reportedly leaked shortly following Tfue’s video, although there is no way of knowing whether it is the actual agreement until FaZe release the official contract.
As always, we will continue to bring you updates to this drama as more information becomes available.