Honda Terminates Its Sponsorship with Team Liquid
2 min read
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) has decided to withdraw its sponsorship from popular esports organisation “Team Liquid” after six years of sponsorship. The decision came after Lucas ‘DiasLucasBr’ Dias, a Rainbow Six Siege player of Team Liquid, posted an insensitive comment about Japanese players on social media.
Even though an apology was given and accepted, Honda concluded that its corporate policies were violated and cancelled the sponsorship with Team Liquid.
A Six-Year Partnership Comes to an End
Honda started sponsoring Team Liquid from 2019. Later on, Honda became the official vehicle sponsor and fully owned the naming rights of Team Liquid’s LCS and academy teams. It was one of the most prominent brand collaborations in esports that captured traditional business engagement with gamers.
But the partnership has ended suddenly due to Dias’s post, where he mocked Japanese culture. He later apologised to CAG Osaka in an attempt to prevent further damage to relationships and the organisation’s brand reputation.
However, Honda stated the player’s behaviour was “incompatible with Honda corporate values and unacceptable,” prompting the termination of sponsorship. The company also extended its apology to the global community, especially those in Japan.
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Team Liquid Accepts and Moves On
Team Liquid accepts the decision of Honda with regret for the outcome and expresses gratitude for their support provided over the years.
Team Liquid has also fined DiasLucasBr four months’ salary regarding the incident and did not remove him from the team.
Regardless of the loss of sponsorship, Team Liquid continues to operate with nine active brand partners, with the most recent partnering with the card game Wildcard. The organisation strengthened its focus towards the community as well, announcing a Pride Month programme that entails wearing Pride-themed jerseys at events like the Esports World Cup.
It will be damaging for Team Liquid to lose the Honda partnership, but it seems the organisation will continue to reinforce its decisions, which are presence-centric, through strategies that strengthen the presence in the esports industry.
