OWL pro suspended from Team USA following 'grooming' allegations

The US American national team reacts to allegations against Vancouver Titans' DPS player Aspire.

28th Jun 2023 10:05

Vancouver Titans

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The American Overwatch national team has announced the suspension of Vancouver Titans’ DPS player Luka “Aspire” Rolovic from its Overwatch World Cup roster following grooming allegations against the player.

He is alleged to have engaged in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old minor while he, at the time, was 20 years old. 

An anonymous Twitter account had posted a document containing alleged evidence including chatlogs and pictures of the allegations. Moreover, the allegations claim that Rolovic had been concerned about the situation becoming public on several occasions.

When asked for comment, Team USA confirmed that this is the reason for Aspire's suspension.

Vancouver Titans accused of inaction

According to streamer and former professional player Becca “Aspen” Rukavina, the Vancouver Titans management had known of these allegations for more than six months due to her reaching out to the organisation regarding the allegations anonymously after she had gained knowledge of the situation.

On her Twitter account @aspenisoffline, she wrote: “I did what I could but going public before the victim is NOT what I wanted to do.”

The Vancouver Titans have not publicly commented on the allegations. GGRecon has reached out to the organisation for comment but has not received an answer as of the time of publication.

Rolovic initially debuted in the Overwatch League with the Toronto Defiant for whom he played for in the League’s fourth season. In November 2021, he was signed by the Vancouver Titans and has played for the Candian franchise since.

Just this week, he had received the call-up to Team USA, having previously been only a stand-in. 

Team USA is currently competing in the Americas qualifier for the Overwatch World Cup while the Overwatch League is on break for another two weeks.

Update: The Vancouver Titans have announced the immediate release of Rolovic. They have yet to respond to GGRecon's request for comment.

Sascha Heinisch

About The Author

Sascha Heinisch

Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.

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