G2 Esports CEO and co-founder Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez was caught at a party recently notorious Internet misogynist and general piece of shit, Andrew Tate. The news sparked a huge backlash on social media, and of course the former League of Legends pro decided to tweet about it. “No one will ever be able to monitor my friendships,” he said wrote. “I party with whoever I want.” Less than 24 hours later, Rodriguez announced that he would be taking two months of unpaid leave.
How exactly did people find out Rodriguez had banged with Tate Sekt, a person in an ongoing human trafficking investigation by Romanian authorities that was recently removed from Facebook, TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube for hate speech? Well, because Rodriguez posted a video of himself and a few others, including Tate and his brother Tristan Tate, passing around champagne and sparklers after G2 recently finished second at the European League of Legends Summer Championship.
Rodriguez was immediately called out from various corners of the internet for messing around with an asshole while parts of the sports world came to his defense.
Rather than back down, the CEO addressed the situation later in the day in a tweet that implied he and Andrew Tate were friends. “No one will ever be able to monitor my friendships, I draw my line here,” it said. “I party with whoever I want.”
The next morning, he retracted that line and apologized to G2 Esports fans and supporters for “not reading the room.”
“A lot of G2 fans have been disappointed this weekend, which has led to some confusion about what I stand for,” said the head of the organization wrote. He went on:
It has always been my consistent goal to stand up for absolute equality of opportunity, no matter who you are or where you come from, what gaming is about. Make no mistake, my life has been filled with insights and I’ve had my fair share of situations I’ve gotten into in the past. I didn’t read this space properly, I feel awful about the discussion it has sparked and will stand up and accept the consequences to the fullest.
G2 Esports make their own statement and announced that the board and Rodriguez had agreed that the CEO should take eight weeks of unpaid leave. “Last night we let you down,” the organization wrote, claiming Rodriguez’s actions stand in stark contrast to the hard work they’ve done to make esports a safe and inclusive space.
Notably, however, neither Rodriguez nor G2 denounced Tate as an organization only recently announced his first pure women League of Legends Team. That “King of Toxic MasculinityTate has regularly cheered at abusing women and treating them like property, and encouraged his male fans to do the same. Esports has a long and checkered history of racism, sexism, and all manner of despicable attitudes and behavior, and this incident is the most high-profile example in a while of why the space is still so unfriendly to so many.
Despite Rodriguez removing G2 Esports from his Twitter bio, replacing his grip with a “relieved” emoji, and making his avatar a baby phoenix in the process of being reborn, Rodriguez still doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. Or maybe he’s just afraid of appearing completely capitulated to G2 supporters, who don’t have a problem with misogyny either. I wonder what League of Legends new president, Lil Nas Xthinks.
Rodriguez and G2 Esports did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
