Team Liquid suspend Rainbow Six coach Mav over abuse allegations
UbisoftTeam Liquid Rainbow Six coach Rafael ‘mav’ Loureiro Freitas has been suspended six months into his tenure over allegations of domestic violence. The former FaZe Clan star has denied the allegations, stating they aren’t “as pictured.”
Mav has been accused by his former partner of instigating domestic violence while they were in a relationship with the Rainbow Six coach.
‘SilverMistR6’, who has now locked her Twitter account, claimed that Mav slammed her against a wall in a bar after he got drunk one night while still on the FaZe Clan roster. Other users backed up her story with screenshots and videos.
The allegations caught wind on January 5, with Team Liquid suspending the coach within 24 hours.
🇧🇷 Comunicado
🇺🇸 Statement pic.twitter.com/eZqAYmyiUQ— Team Liquid BR 🇧🇷 (@TeamLiquidBR) January 6, 2021
“These are extremely concerning and serious allegations. We want to assure the community and those who raised these concerns that we are investigating thoroughly, and all work with Mav has been suspended until we complete our investigation,” the team said in a January 6 statement.
“After first learning of these incidents [on January 5], we immediately began conducting a formal review to determine the appropriate course of action. We’ll share an update as soon as the investigation is complete.”
Mav himself has denied some of the claims. While he admits he “was wrong to push [his partner],” he claims there’s more to the story.
“I said I was wrong to push my ex — you shouldn’t push anyone, period. It wasn’t as pictured, but of course I’ll always be canceled and have to read things like an abuser when I pushed her away,” he said on Twitter according to a translation.
Gente, eu disse sim que errei em empurrar minha ex, não se deve empurrar NINGUÉM e ponto, mas não foi como retratado, mas claro que vou para sempre ser o cancelado e ter que ler coisas como abusador quando eu empurrei ela para se afastar, enfim boa noite a todos
— Liquid mav (@mavfps) January 6, 2021
Mav is one of numerous people within Brazilian esports to be swept up in sexual assault allegations over the last few days. CS:GO pro Lincoln ‘fnx’ Lau was accused of leaking a private video from Twitch streamer and host Renata ‘Elfa’ Schozen without her permission.
The two were in a relationship in 2019 when fnx recorded an intimate video of them, which he allegedly shared in a WhatsApp group without her consent. Three people told Schozen about the incident, and she has also threatened legal action.
Brazilian League of Legends caster Gabriel ‘MiT’ Souza was also dropped by Riot for the 2021 CBLoL Season after he was also accused of sexual assault by members of the community.
Team Liquid are expected to take part in the Six Invitational 2021. It’s unclear if Mav’s suspension will jeopardize his ability to travel to Europe to coach the squad.
