ninjaboogie says he was cut from Team SMG because he chose to spend time with his mother as she was in the final stages of cancer.
Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross

Professional Dota 2 player, Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross, says that he was cut from Team SMG as a result of his decision to spend time with his mother in "her last days."

According to statements released by Ross on Twitter, he chose to spend time with his mother before she passed. His mother had been battling stage four cancer. Team SMG allegedly held a meeting without Ross where a decision was made to cut him from the team completely. They later informed him that they were going to continue without his inclusion in the team.

Ross says that he was supposed to fly back to join the team on May 14. His mother had a stroke late in the day on May 12 and was admitted to the hospital. Ross requested that his flight be moved since bootcamp was set to start on the 20th and he still wanted to join them even after everything. Ross's mother passed away on Monday, May 16.


Team SMG makes no mention of the reason for the team parting ways with Ross. In a tweet, Team SMG thanks Ross for "his enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication." There may be other reasons for Team SMG's apparently disgusting call here but if there are, they haven't said what they might be.

It could be that Team SMG were just looking for an excuse to cut Ross before all of this happened, and this was the "out" that they were presented with. It's certainly still an incredibly shitty situation no matter the reason.