ONE OF the most influential figures in esports, Carlos "ocelote" Rodriguez, came under public scrutiny as a video showed him partying with controversial former kickboxer Andrew Tate.
Tate was seen smoking a cigar in G2's world championship celebration.
Upon seeing the video, fans were left stunned. With Tate's history of misogynistic statements, some fans brought up the disconnect between ocelote's partying and the organization's announcement of an all-female League of Legends roster.
Initially, the renowned esports CEO didn't hesitate to fire back on his critics.
How did Ocelote respond?
"Nobody will ever be able to police my friendships," he tweeted. "I draw my line here. I party with whoever the f**k I want!
This tweet invited even more criticism.
Ashley Kang, the co-founder of Korizon Esports, expressed her disappointment on Ocelote's response.
"People will not be able to police another person's friendship," she tweeted. "However, people WILL be able to feel disappointed by that person's choice of friendship, the initiative to double down on publicizing it. People will be able to judge you and consequently G2 for it."
She even posted a screenshot of an article from The Guardian, highlighting Tate's alleged activities.
Even Overwatch shoutcaster Mitch Leslie gave her two cents.
G2 Esports issues a public apology
Given the controversial nature of the incident, G2 Esports published their statement regarding their CEO's actions.
"Last night we failed you. The actions of our CEO spoke a language in stark contrast with the values and the culture G2 lives by and strives for. And for that we apologize," they began.
"Since our creation we have worked hard to build a safe and inclusive environment to enjoy esports. These are just small steps in the right direction we need to take as a company. We'll continue to do our best each and every day to improve ourselves and the industry at large."
They also revealed their hefty punishments for Ocelote.
"After internal discussion, Carlos and our Supervisory Board have mutually agreed that he will take eight weeks of leave as CEO and suspend his earnings during that time.
"Thank you to the G2ARMY and the esports community for holding us accountable."
As a follow up, Ocelote even published a tweet about the incident, saying, "Make no mistake, my life was full of learnings and I had my fair share of situations I got into in the past. I failed to read this room right, feel terrible about the discussions it created and will stand up and accept the consequences in full."
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