"After a thorough review, we have decided to release Rupal and remove him from our Overwatch roster."
Team Liquid has removed Overwatch player Rupal “Rupal” Zaman from its roster after he used a racial slur.
Overwatch player Rupal removed from Team Liquid
On March 16, Team Liquid co-CEO Steve Arhancet announced the removal of Rupal from his team’s Overwatch Champion Series (OWCS) roster. In a post on X, Arhancet explained that such language has no place in Overwatch, its community, and Team Liquid as an organization.
“Today, one of our Overwatch players used an anti-Black racial slur in the chat during a scrim,” Arhancet stated. “To the Black players, fans, and members of our community this affected: I’m sorry. I want to be unequivocal in condemning the language he used. There is no place for it in our game, in our community, or in this organization.”
He continued, “We began looking into the incident the moment it was brought to our attention. After a thorough review, we have decided to release Rupal and remove him from our Overwatch roster.”
According to Arhancet, when a player joins Team Liquid, they are expected to represent themselves and the organization with the highest level of professionalism across all spaces. Players also undergo media, communication, and sensitivity training to understand the impact of their words. However, the process fell short in this case. Therefore, Team Liquid will review its onboarding and retraining process and implement stronger accountability structures moving forward.
“Team Liquid has always tried to build something bigger than wins and losses. That means holding ourselves accountable when we fall short, and it means being honest with our community rather than hiding behind vague language,” he added. “What happened today was wrong, and we felt we owed you a clear response.”
Arhancet also acknowledged that Rupal is a well-known player in North America’s Overwatch esports scene. He stated Team Liquid hopes the incident serves as a moment of reflection and growth.
USA Overwatch World Cup drops Rupal
The USA Overwatch World Cup (OWWC) team made an announcement on X shortly after as well. The post stated that the team has a zero-tolerance policy for that type of behavior.
“The player is no longer being considered for our 2026 roster,” the post stated. It also revealed that the slur was typed in team chat during a live stream.
Rupal responds to his removal from Team Liquid
Rupal responded to the Team Liquid announcement, stating on X there are no excuses for his actions. He noted that, having experienced racism in multiple countries, he should have known better than to use such offensive language so casually.
“It’s a horrendous mistake on my part,” he continued. “I don’t consider myself a hateful person, and always enjoy meeting new people regardless of their background.”
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