Cloud9 apologise for "objectionable" comments after Ops Manager slams uses of police skin in LoL

C9 Jack has made a public statement on Twitter regarding C9 Mae’s recent controversial tweet where she objected to the use of a police-themed skin in League of Legends. 

The tweet in question was one where the C9 Operation Manager called out FlyQuest’s jungler Lucas “Santorin” Tao Kilmer Larsen for his use of the police-themed Captain Volibear skin in a recent LCS game versus Evil Geniuses, and that his use of the skin was racist.

(Picture: Cloud9 Mae)

In a Twitlonger, Jack agreed that Mae’s comments were “ill-conceived and objectionable,” but made sure to emphasise that “serious, civil discourse on these issues is important.”

Cloud9’s issue with the statement seems to stem less from the discourse itself - especially during the evolving, and politically charged situation that surrounds the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing conversation of the role of the police within U.S. society - but lies more with Mae’s threats to publically label Santorin (and others) as racist over a relatively ambiguous event.

Of course, these are challenging issues to navigate, and have been brought to the forefront of the public’s consciousness in recent months, and Cloud9 are not the only ones who’ve run afoul of treading the line between personal opinion and brand image. Riot too found themselves in an even more difficult PR situation after an executive’s poor social media judgement around similar issues.

• Read More: Cloud9’s Licorice: “We’ve been trying a lot of new things in scrims for LCS 2020 Summer”

Moreover, C9 Mae having to set her Twitter to private and Jack’s concerning statement within his Twitlonger where he requested those offended by the Operation Manager’s statement to refrain from personal attacks against her paints a disheartening picture of retaliation within the esports scene.

For Cloud9 and Santorin though, the situation seems to have been resolved amicably. Mae and Jack have reached out to Santorin personally to apologise for the situation, and Santorin has publicly responded to Jack’s twitter post accepting the apology and calling it “water under the bridge.”

The C9 tag has currently been removed from Mae’s twitter handle, but as yet she appears to still be with the organisation. Her ongoing future with the Cloud9 organisation is yet to be confirmed.