Team Liquid loses Honda Sponsorship after offensive Social Media post

19 May

Andre Guaraldo

American Honda Motor Co., Inc has officially ended its partnership with esports organization Team Liquid following a controversial social media post by one of the team's Rainbow Six Siege players.

The huge sponsorship termination comes after Lucas "DiasLucasBr" Dias shared an inappropriate GIF related to atomic bombing on his social media account, causing widespread backlash in the esports community and beyond.

The incident after CAG Osaka x Team Liquid

On May 13, 2025, following Team Liquid's loss to Japanese team CAG Osaka in the Rainbow Six Siege tournament RE:L0:AD 2025, Brazilian player Lucas "DiasLucasBr" Dias posted a message on X about the defeat. What made the post highly controversial was his inclusion of a GIF depicting a nuclear explosion, which community notes identified as being from a BBC documentary recreation of the Hiroshima bombing.

The post immediately drew significant criticism as many viewed it as making light of the atomic bombings of Japan-one of the most devastating events in human history. The timing and context made the post particularly offensive, as it came directly after a loss to a Japanese team.

Dias, who had only recently joined Team Liquid and was participating in his first competition under the organization, deleted the post after the backlash began. On May 16, he issued a public apology stating:

"I want to sincerely apologize for the post I made after our last loss. I made a big mistake using that GIF, and I understand that it may have caused discomfort for many people. I truly did not mean to offend anyone, but I understand that the context and my choice were inappropriate".

Honda's response to the incident

Honda took immediate action following the incident. Initially, the company "promptly lodged a severe protest with the team and the player in question," according to their official statement. At this stage, Team Liquid apologized for the incident, removed the offending post, and implemented measures aimed at preventing similar occurrences in the future1.

However, after further consideration, the american subsidiary company ultimately decided to terminate its sponsorship agreement with Team Liquid entirely. In their statement, Honda explained that the decision was made because they deemed the conduct "incompatible with Honda corporate values and unacceptable".

According to media reports, Honda specifically communicated that Dias' post did not align with the company's fundamental principle of "Respect for Humanity," necessitating the end of their partnership. This principle appears to be a core value for the Japanese automaker, making the atomic bomb reference particularly problematic given Japan's history.

credits: Honda Motors

A multi-million loss for Team Liquid

The terminated partnership between Honda and Team Liquid was not insignificant. Sources within the industry suggest that the sponsorship agreement was valued at approximately $3-6 million annually, spread across multiple Esports like Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends, Dota 2 and others, making this one of the most expensive social media missteps in esports history.

Prior to this incident, Honda had been a major partner of Team Liquid, as the partnership was part of Honda's broader strategy to engage with the gaming community and represented one of the most substantial non-endemic brand sponsorships in esports.

Professional and disciplinary consequences

Following the incident, Team Liquid implemented a series of formal disciplinary and financial measures against Lucas "DiasLucasBr" Dias, which include:

Lucas will be fined the equivalent of four months’ salary for failing to meet Team Liquid’s standards of professionalism and care.
He will undergo additional media and sensitivity training to prevent similar incidents in the future.
All Team Liquid Rainbow Six players will donate their entire RE:L0:AD tournament prize winnings to charity as a gesture of responsibility.
The fine imposed on Lucas will also be donated to a charitable institution.
Team Liquid will conduct mandatory retraining for all players and coaches across all divisions over the next six months, using Lucas’s tweet as a case study in onboarding materials.

Can Team Liquid recover from such hard hit?

The termination of Honda's sponsorship agreement with Team Liquid represents one of the most significant corporate responses to player misconduct in recent esports history. For Team Liquid, losing a partnership reportedly worth millions of dollars annually constitutes a substantial financial blow, while for Honda, the decision aligns with their stated corporate values and principles.

As esports continues to grow and attract larger non-endemic sponsors, this incident highlights the critical importance of proper social media training for players and the implementation of robust oversight mechanisms by organizations. In an industry where a single post can cost millions in sponsorship dollars, the professional stakes for all parties involved have never been higher.

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Feature image credits: Team Liquid

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