Spectrion

Today, one of our Overwatch players used an anti-Black racial slur in the chat during a scrim. To the Black players, fans, and members of our community this affected: I'm sorry. I want to be unequivocal in condemning the language he used. There is no place for it in our game, in our community, or in this organization. We began looking into the incident the moment it was brought to our attention. After a thorough review, we have decided to release Rupal and remove him from our Overwatch roster. When we bring a player into Team Liquid, our expectation is that they represent themselves and us at the highest levels of professionalism; on stage, online, and in every space where they carry our name. We have each and every player go through media training, communication training, and sensitivity training in an attempt to educate them about the meaning of words and the weight they carry. We believe in that process and hold everyone who represents Team Liquid to that same standard. But today it was not enough, and we take that seriously. We will be reviewing our onboarding and retraining process. It's clear we need additional accountability structures implemented. Not just as a reaction to this incident, but as an ongoing commitment to the communities that make our games worth playing. Team Liquid has always tried to build something bigger than wins and losses. That means holding ourselves accountable when we fall short, and it means being honest with our community rather than hiding behind vague language. What happened today was wrong, and we felt we owed you a clear response. We also recognize that Rupal is a leader in NA's Overwatch scene, but he is also a young person who made a serious mistake in a very public way. We hope this becomes a moment of genuine reflection and growth for him. Not the end of his story, but a turning point in it. We wish him well. Steve, Co-CEO