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Honda no longer Team Liquid sponsor after a player posted a GIF

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Honda has ended its partnership with Team Liquid following an offensive tweet posted by their Rainbow Six player, Lucas “DiasLucasBR” Dias.

A single social media post led to Honda ending their collaboration and backing with the esports team. Take a look at the post, the player in question, Honda’s response, and how Team Liquid responded.

DiasLucasBr and the GIF

On the 14th of May, 2025, Lucas “DiasLucasBr” Dias and Team Liquid suffered a defeat at the hands of the Japanese team CAG Osaka during the group stage in the Rainbow Six Siege tournament RE:L0:AD 2025.

After suffering a loss, Dias decided to express his feelings on a certain platform by making a post. But instead of using just words, he added a GIF that depicted a nuclear explosion. However, it was noted within the community comments that part of this GIF originated from the BBC’s reenactment of the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast. Moreover, the GIF appeared in search results when “Hiroshima” was entered into the platform’s GIF search engine.

Our victory was over FaZe, yet we fell to the powerful CAG. Onward to the next contest we proceed.

The post has since been deleted.

Dias joined Team Liquid not long ago, and RELOAD was his first competition under the org.

Straightaway, Dias expressed regret to Japanese spectators, assuring them that his remark wasn’t intended to be disrespectful. Moreover, he mentioned that he had already extended a direct apology to the team members of CAG Osaka.

Honda’s statement

After Dias’ post, Honda swiftly issued a statement, expressing a strong complaint both to Team Liquid and the concerned player. They stated that Team Liquid has offered an apology and taken steps to ensure such an incident does not happen again.

The company, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., chose to end its partnership with the team, as their behavior was found to contradict Honda’s corporate principles and standards, which they deemed unsuitable.

Allow us to express our sincere regrets if this situation unintentionally offended members of the e-sports community, as well as individuals in Japan and across the globe. Moving forward, Honda remains committed to fostering initiatives that contribute positively to society, aligning with our core values.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. in a statement about their partnership with Team Liquid

Back in 2019, I became a proud supporter of Team Liquid when they welcomed Honda on board as their sponsor. Fast forward to 2022, and the partnership has grown even stronger. Now, I’m thrilled to be part of “Team Liquid Honda,” a name that symbolizes our unified spirit and shared passion for excellence!

Team Liquid’s response

Team Liquid swiftly put up their statement across their social media and official website.

The post initiated by stating that he looked up an explosion GIF using common terms to symbolize his team’s impressive performance despite their loss, which was affirmed by TL founder and co-CEO Victor “Liquid Nazgul” Goossens. He explained that Dias utilized the term “bomba caindo” (Portuguese for ‘falling bomb’), indicating no malicious intent in his search for the GIF.

Here’s a possible way to make it even more natural and conversational:

The post started off by explaining how he found an explosion GIF using ordinary keywords, demonstrating his team’s outstanding performance despite their loss – a point supported by Team Liquid (TL) founder Victor “Liquid Nazgul” Goossens. He mentioned that Dias actually used the term “bomba caindo” (Portuguese for ‘falling bomb’) in searching for the GIF and clarified there was no malice intended behind it.

In their statement, Team Liquid confirmed that Lucas (Dias) has apologized for any offense he may have caused to CAG Osaka. The team accepted his apology with compassion and understanding. If they had discovered malicious or prejudiced intentions from Lucas, he would have been removed from the roster. This suggests that Dias will continue to be part of Team Liquid’s Rainbow Six Siege team.

The post once again apologized to CAG Osaka and thanked them for their understanding.

After recognizing that our previous statement may have been disrespectful and hurtful to Japanese fans and the Japanese esports community, Team Liquid now offers a heartfelt apology. We acknowledge your pain and disappointment in this situation, and we deeply regret causing you such feelings. To show our unwavering respect for Japan’s people and their thriving esports community, we are dedicated to rebuilding the trust through both our actions and words.

Team Liquid to fine Dias and donate to charity

Following the occurrence, Team Liquid acknowledges their responsibility and is implementing the following measures to ensure such incidents do not happen again in the future.

Initially, Dias faces a penalty equal to four months of his wages and must participate in workshops focusing on media interactions and sensitivity. The funds collected from Dias’ penalty will be donated to a charitable organization.

Team Liquid plans to contribute every penny they earn from the RELOAD tournament directly to a benevolent institution. This organization ended up placing between 9th and 16th, earning them a total of $12,000 in prize money.

In conclusion, all team leaders, coaches, and players will be required to receive retraining, while Dias’ tweet will be incorporated into our studies as a practical example of real-world situations.

In simpler terms, Team Liquid acknowledged and appreciated Honda’s choice to end their collaboration, expressing understanding, and extending gratitude for the lengthy period of cooperation.

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2025-05-19 16:41

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