Riot executive resigns after Floyd post

A Riot Games executive who posted negative views about George Floyd on social media resigned.Riot announced last week that the company was committing $1 million to advance justice reform and another $10 million to create opportunities for minorities in the gaming industry. Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck as he laid on the ground.

A Riot Games executive who posted negative views about George Floyd on social media resigned. Ron Johnson was Riot's global head of consumer products. He posted to Facebook a photo of Floyd, who died last month in the custody of Minneapolis police, that listed his police record under the headline, "The media and the left have made George Floyd into a martyr, but who was he really?"

He added that because Floyd had drugs in his system, which an autopsy revealed, that the man was a danger to the community. "The sentiment expressed in the image in question is abhorrent and runs directly counter to our values and our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate societal change, something that we're committed to working toward," a Riot spokesperson told ESPN.

Riot, the creator of League of Legends, hired Johnson in December. He previously was executive vice president of consumer products for Viacom International Media Networks, a senior vice president for MTV Networks/Nickelodeon Consumer Products and an executive with Disney Consumer Products. Riot announced last week that the company was committing $1 million to advance justice reform and another $10 million to create opportunities for minorities in the gaming industry.

Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck as he laid on the ground. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired and faces second-degree murder charges. Three other officers were fired and have been charged in Floyd's death. --Field Level Media