Former G2 and FaZe Clan CS:GO pro, Ricardo ‘fox’ Pacheco, has been suspended by the Vodafone Giants, following comments he made about a former teammate’s girlfriend in a post-match interview.
The 33-year-old was speaking in an interview after a win in the LPCS, when he said that if former teammate, João “KILLDREAM” Ferreira’s girlfriend was his girlfriend, he would have hit her because of her behavior.
On January 28, Vodafone Giants confirmed that they would be suspending fox for a month without pay, prohibited from playing in any competition.
KILLDREAM previously played with fox for Giants, before joining Keyd Stars in August 2019.
Giant’s statement in full (translated from Spanish) reads: “After reviewing the interview by Ricardo Pacheco “Fox” and acknowledging that Ricardo made sexist comments, taking in consideration his twenty plus years of professionalism without any wrongdoings, Vodafone Giants believes this is a grave infraction and will suspend the player for a period of one month.
“Ricardo has shown he is deeply sorry to his teammates and especially his female teammates.”
— GIANTX (@GIANTXES) January 28, 2020
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Following his comments and subsequent suspension, fox responded and apologized on Twitter.
He admitted that his comments were inexcusable, and regrets the incident. He also explained that he is aware children may have been watching, and as a father himself, was ashamed of his remarks.
“Last Sunday I made some comments post-match that I would like to apologize for publicly,” he said. “I am not a violent person nor have I had any history of violence. In my 20 years of career, this has never happened before.”
As minhas sinceras desculpas! 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/FZr5C5CNIN
— Ricardo Pacheco (@foxgringoCS) January 28, 2020
“What I said shouldn’t be said,” fox concluded, “I know there are kids watching and I am also a father, so I want to set a good example. I hereby apologize.”
He finished by saying that he will accept any punishment which the team sets for him as a result.
His suspension means he will not be able to participate in the Europe Minor Qualifier, the path to the ESL One major in Rio in May 2020.