Honda ends longtime partnership with Team Liquid over insensitive Japan tweet

Team Liquid has announced that Honda has ended its partnership with the esports organization in response to a controversial post made by one of its players involving a reference to the Hiroshima bombing.

The details:

• Following a loss to Japanese Rainbow Six Siege team CAG Osaka at the Siege X RELOAD event last week, Team Liquid player Dias shared the result on X, writing (translation via X): "We won against FaZe and lost to the powerful CAG; let's move forward and see you at the next camp." However, Dias had included a GIF of a nuclear explosion from a BBC documentary about the World War II nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, which sparked outrage among Japanese esports fans and the country's gaming community as a whole.

• In response to the backlash, Dias quickly deleted the post and apologized, claiming that the GIF was meant to refer to the fact that his team "blew up," and was not an intentional reference to the controversial bombing. Still, the post had a significant impact, prompting responses from Japanese media outlets that eventually reached Team Liquid's long-time partner, Honda Motors.

• Both Honda and Team Liquid have now confirmed that their partnership has ended after over six years. As a result, the automobile brand will no longer be featured as a sponsor on the organization's jerseys and other assets. Its League of Legends roster, previously known as Team Liquid Honda for sponsorship reasons, will also revert its name.

• Team Liquid went on to thank Honda for their partnership and apologized again to the Japanese gaming community. "To our fans around the world, as Team Liquid is engaging with different communities and cultures, we cannot promise that we will never make mistakes," the organization wrote. "We promise, however, to take full accountability for our actions and rectify the mistakes we make."

• The organization clarified in its statement that, while Dias will be punished for the post, it does not believe it was intentionally malicious and has made no comment as to whether he will be removed from the roster. Dias has now been fined four months' salary, will undergo sensitivity training, and will donate his fine, along with the team's earnings from the RELOAD event, to charity. Team Liquid will also require further mandatory training for all of its esports players and coaches.

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