MIBR respond to kl1m’s racist remark: "Recurrence will not be tolerated"

MIBR have issued a disciplinary sanction to Klimentii "⁠kl1m⁠" Krivosheev, their new AWPer, after the Russian called a Chilean player a "monkey" in a match played in FACEIT on September 8th.

MIBR said via a statement that they repudiate "any form of prejudice, be it racism, xenophobia, or discrimination of any kind."

In Brazil, calling someone a "monkey" is considered a serious racial slur when used in a derogatory manner towards Brazilians, especially black Brazilians.

The Brazilian organization deemed kl1m's actions unacceptable, even though the AWPer claimed that the term may have a different connotation in his culture.

"We fully recognize and validate the devastating historical and social impact that the word has in Brazil," MIBR said on September 10th. "There is no room for ambiguity when it comes to racism."

While some MIBR fans asked the organization to part ways with kl1m after Dust2 Brasil broke the news, MIBR will keep the AWPer and issue "internal disciplinary sanctions."

kl1m will have to attend a "racial and cultural literacy program focused on Brazil's history and social challenges," as part of the sanctions. MIBR also stressed that "recurrence will not be tolerated."

On the same day, kl1m apologized for the offense and explained that there was "no racist intent" behind his comment. He argued that calling someone a monkey is a generic insult in his culture, but is committed to educating himself about the "Brazilian culture and history."

This Thursday, September 11th, FACEIT told Dust2 Brasil that kl1m has been dealt a one-week ban for "verbal abuse."

"We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding discriminatory content and abusive language," FACEIT said. The platform informed that this is the first time kl1m has been reported after 4,000 matches, and because of that, they issued a level-one penalty.

kl1m has been in MIBR since August 26th, when the Brazilian organization signed him on loan from G2 Ares. They also added Aleksei "Qikert" Golubev afterward, drawing inevitable comparisons to when FURIA signed Danil "molodoy" Golubenko and Mareks "YEKINDAR" Gaļinskis.