Honda ends sponsorship with Team Liquid over scandalous social media post

Japanese automotive company Honda has terminated its sponsorship agreement with esports organisation Team Liquid.

The announcement comes shortly after Liquid’s Rainbow Six player Lucas “DiasLucasBr” Dias made a post on X (formerly Twitter) that was deemed offensive towards the Japanese community. 

The post had Dias sharing a GIF of a nuclear bomb exploding over Hiroshima following a match with a Japanese team, which was received poorly by the Japanese community. Liquid have since stated that it was a poor choice but not intended to be malicious or harmful.

Given the historical context of the US bombing of Japan during the Second World War, the post has been considered to be in poor taste. Team Liquid have stated that the player has apologised to his opponents, CAG Osaka, and has been fined four months’ salary. 

Team Liquid and Honda had been partners since 2019. Honda also held the naming rights to Liquid’s League of Legends team. 

Honda released the following statement on the matter: 

“After much consideration, AHM (American Honda Motor Co.) has decided to terminate its sponsorship with the team in question, deeming the conduct to be incompatible with Honda corporate values and unacceptable. We deeply apologise for any offence this incident may have caused not only to the esports community, but also to many people in Japan and globally. Honda will continue to support activities that provide positive value to society based on our company philosophy.“

Team Liquid stated:

“After a game against the Japanese Rainbow Six team CAG Osaka, one of our Rainbow Six players, Lucas ‘DiasLucasBr’ Dias, made a social media post that featured offensive and insensitive content. Lucas made a regrettable decision in the heat of the moment after a tough loss. He searched for an explosion GIF using generic keywords to express how his team “blew up” during their loss, and in choosing one that matched the intensity of his emotions, he failed to realize how the imagery connected to a painful moment in Japan’s history. We believe that there was no malicious intent, only a very serious lapse in judgment and awareness. Immediately after the initial post, Lucas proactively apologized to the players from CAG Osaka for any offense he caused. The CAG Osaka players listened and accepted the apology with grace and understanding and expressed that they saw it as a mistake and not a deliberate insult. While that does not undo the harm this post caused, we believe it reflects the sincerity of Lucas’s mistake, as well as his remorse and character. If we found that Lucas had malicious, prejudiced intentions, we would remove him from the roster.

“We hold ourselves and our players to a high professional standard and Lucas’s tweet fell short of that standard. This does not reflect who we are as people and as an organization, and it should not define Lucas as an individual in the public perception. We believe that individuals who show a willingness to learn from their mistakes deserve the opportunity to improve themselves, and we are committed to providing Lucas with the training necessary to grow as a person. An honest mistake should not be the end of someone’s career. To the players of CAG Osaka, we want to offer our sincerest apologies for any offence you may have felt. We thank you for the cordial dialogue, your understanding and graceful handling of the situation. 

“To our fans in Japan and the Japanese esports community, we fully understand how this post was disrespectful and hurtful to you. We want to express our sincere regrets and apology that we made you feel this way. We are aware that this moment has been painful for you, and that you have been disappointed with us. We want to reiterate our deep respect for the people of Japan and for their vibrant esports community, and we are fully committed to regaining the trust of the community through our actions as much as our words. 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. We promise, however, to take full accountability for our actions and rectify the mistakes we make. However, due to the controversy generated by this incident, our automotive partner Honda Motors has made the decision not to renew our partnership. Although we regret this outcome, we understand and respect the decision, and extend our thanks to Honda Motors for having been good partners for 6 years. We remain grateful to our community, to our partners, and to those who have engaged with us constructively through this. Thank you for holding us to a high standard. We intend to meet it.“

Victor Goossens, Founder and Co-CEO, Team Liquid, added:

“I want to sincerely apologize for the offense and hurt caused by this situation. It is deeply regrettable, and I want to emphasize that we take it seriously. But I also want to say this clearly. What happened was a mistake, not malice. Dias is a young player who searched “bomba caindo,” Portuguese for “falling bomb,” to express how the team blew up in the match. The image he chose was thoughtless, but there was no hateful intent behind it. That context matters. The claim that this image could only be found by searching “Hiroshima” is simply not true. It appears in results for generic terms like “explosion” and “bomb” and has been widely used. The effort to rewrite his intent, escalate outrage, and demand terminations has been painful to witness. We have taken action, and we believe in accountability. But we also believe in fairness and context. We have parted ways with individuals in the past when a clear line was crossed. We do not believe that applies here. This kid deserves to play.“