G2 Owner Carlos Suspended After Tweet Backlash

G2 Esports owner Carlos "Ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago is one of the most well-known faces in European League of Legends. He's got a big personality and says whatever he wants on social media and everyone has accepted that, but it seems that he's gone too far this time and even G2 fans won't put up with it. 

On Septmeber 17, 2022 Ocelote tweeted out a video of him and his friends partying together. In the video one infamous personality and his brother can be seen – Andrew and Tristan Tate. Of course, this sparked outrage on Twitter, with Ocelote getting called out left right and center. So, what was the esports owners response? 

[Update: September 19, 2022]

Ocelote Suspended Without Pay

While the initial response of Ocelote wasn't the greatest, it seems that the G2 Esports PR team has been hard at work to try and calm the public down. Fans cut up their jerseys and even the guy who asks for free G2 merch every day on Twitter stated that he will stop doing so. 

As a response G2 Esports have suspended Carlos for 8-weeks without pay. 

The actions of our CEO spoke a langauge in stark contrast with the values and the culture G2 lives by and strives for. And for that we apologize

Carlos also sent out a tweet of his own apologizing for his actions, in stark contrast to his initial response to the backlash where he stated that he won't let anyone police his friendships. 

Many G2 fans were let down this weekend which created confusion about what I stand for.
It has always been my consistent target to stand for absolute equality of opportunity regardless of who you are or where you come from, which is what gaming is all about. 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.

[Update: September 20, 2022]

In response to the massive backlash from fans and people in the industry, Carlos' former wife decided to step into the discussion with a statement regarding his character. 

She feels the allegations against Ocolote are greatly unjustified and that people are making too rash judgments. She continues to explain that throughout their 8 years together, she has never experienced him acting misogynistic in any way and that he has always done whatever he can in order to make people feel safe and welcome, both in his personal and professional life.

[Original Article]

"I Party With Whoever the F*ck I Want" 

You probably already know this, but if you've been living under a rock, let's quickly go over who Andrew Tate is so you can understand the severity of the situation. Andrew Tate is the most infamous person on the internet. He started off as a kickboxer and even made a quick and short appearance on Big Brother UK and has since become an internet celebrity through his videos on YouTube and TikTok. 

Tate is one of the most controversial people on the internet with some insanely misogynist takes, homophobic takes and let's not get started on 'Hustler's University' which many call a multi-level marketing scheme aka pyramid scheme. Oh, and did we mention the human trafficking allegations... yeah... 

Tate grew his footprint online, reaching almost cult status with young and lonely men hanging off every word he said, creating a dangerous environment for women by spreading misogynist narratives. So, Tate ended up banned on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

But all that doesn't seem to deter the G2 owner who can be clearly seen partying with said man. When the video was posted it went viral right away with other faces of the esports community speaking up and calling Ocelote out for befriending someone like Tate. 

After the backlash, Carlos went back to Twitter to defend his stance. "Nobody will ever be able to police my friendships. I draw my line here. I party with whoever the F*ck I want." 

Here are some responses from the League of Legends community: 

More reactions have come in after the tweet was posted with many disappointed Ocelote and his stance. Many even pointing out the double standard behind G2 Esports announcement of an all-women's League of Legends roster only to come out with this video. 

It is true that they could just be friends and you don't technically share the same viewpoint as your friends, but would you really want to be seen with a human trafficker and someone with multiple rape allegations in public? Just food for thought....