Team BDS CEO Patrice Bailo de Spoelberch has gotten the organization in hot water after making some controversial comments on Twitter (now X). Now, just a day later, one of the year’s biggest Rocket League events has been cancelled over it and BDS have announced “internal measures” will be taken against him.
Team BDS is one of the leading esports organizations in France, boasting a huge presence in games like Rainbow 6: Siege, League of Legends, and one of the most successful Rocket League teams of all time.
Unfortunately for their Rocket League roster, though, they weren’t able to hold on to the star-studded team and had to exit the esport citing sustainability concerns.
They did, however, vow to put on the Take the Throne event and find a way to stay in the scene. After all, their team won the entire World Championship in both 2022 and 2024, with Rocket League being a core part of the org’s DNA.
But, after remarks from their CEO in a now-deleted tweet, the event has been cancelled as many of the featured teams vowed to pull out in response to his comments. The CEO said, “A woman who dares to use abortion should lose the right to ever have children.”
A day after that tweet went out, Team BDS made a statement that Team Vitality responded to. BDS chose to cancel Take the Throne, and Vitality explained why they were pulling out of the event.
https://t.co/JdugiMgKOt pic.twitter.com/6q6HkvyC2n
— Team Vitality 🐝 (@TeamVitality) November 14, 2024
“Following last night’s disrespectful and controversial comments on women’s rights by the owner of the organizing team, we have taken the decision to withdraw from the Rocket League competition. We strongly condemn these remarks and can in no way accept associating our clubs and our values with such rhetoric,” the statement from Vitality reads.
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Karmine Corp and Gentlemates mirrored Vitality’s sentiment and pulled out of the event in unison, with teams working issue refunds to those who already bought tickets.
In addition, Team BDS immediately distanced themselves from de Spoelberch’s statement as well, saying that internal measures are already being conducted and that his statement doesn’t represent the organization’s ideals.
BDS CEO Pat himself has apologized, with his statement reading as follows:
“I want to apologize for the tweet posted yesterday. I realize after rereading that it is extremely clumsy and does not reflect my true thoughts. I wrote this tweet in the heat of the moment after watching the video, which shocked me by the method used. Every woman must have control over her body and is free to terminate a pregnancy. Again, sorry to all the women and people I offended.”
Fans have replied to that tweet saying that his actions are “unacceptable” and that, though they don’t hold any of this mess against Team BDS, they are calling for him to step down.
