Joe Marsh is the boss of T1, one of the most powerful and best eSports teams in the world, especially in League of Legends. The CEO has now made a serious gamble. In a public Discord, he made comments about his LoL player ‘Oner’. Apparently, he finds the 19-year-old extremely attractive. For this, he is now doing penance and will forgo parts of his salary for 6 months. Furious Korean fans are demanding his resignation.
What did Joe Marsh do? Joe Marsh and some employees of T1 were active on a Discord server, which is now causing trouble among T1 fans.
Among other things, Marsh commented on the body of the Korean jungler Oner on the Discord server. In his own words (via twitter):
I am proud of the hard work he puts into his workout, and I made a joke about spraying oil on him for a photo, and I used the expression ‘Thirst Trap’. My behavior caused unnecessary distraction for Oner, who is focused on the current season. I have personally and sincerely apologized to him. And I will ensure that this does not happen again.
Joe Marsh
Marsh also apologizes for the racist remarks circulating about Korean T1 fans on the Discord server that were not moderated. Additionally, employees of T1 had shared sensitive information.
Marsh forgoes parts of his salary for 6 months
What is Joe Marsh doing now as a consequence? Marsh says he is forgoing a part of his salary for six months as punishment. Furthermore, he will stop speaking about personal details of the team on all channels.
It is also said that employees of T1 who saw the Discord server but did nothing would also face disciplinary measures.
All of this sounds more like an action one would expect from Tyler1, rather than the CEO of T1:
What is this exactly about? The 19-year-old Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-ju has been the jungler for T1 since July 2021, one of the strongest teams in the world.
Apparently, Oner has undergone a tough fitness program in recent months. Already in June 2022, a fitness guru posted a picture of Oner, showing him without a shirt in the gym. With the caption:
‘This is just the beginning. The Thirst Trap comes after the summer.’
It can be assumed that Joe Marsh was referring to this picture in his comment and how fit Oner looks.
Update 17.8., 9:58 AM: Screenshots from the Discord have now surfaced. They show the exact statements for which Joe Marsh has apologized (via inven):
Original report:
What is meant by ‘Thirst Trap’? Thirst Trap is a picture on social media that aims to provoke sexual interest. So a sexually suggestive photo.
What exactly got into Joe Marsh to make such statements, aside from his pride in Oner, is unclear.
Korean fans are angrily demanding the CEO’s resignation
How is that being received? The Korean hardcore fans of T1 are particularly upset by the incident, as can be seen from comments. They find Marsh’s apology and self-punishment insufficient.
Under Joe Marsh’s post, Korean fans are demanding his resignation. The behavior has shown that “he and his social media company” need to leave the team. He has clearly crossed boundaries that should not be crossed.
There seems to be a divide at T1 between the Korean fans, who see the team as a “sports organization,” and the US bosses of T1, who came to T1 through a merger a few years ago and who are more focused on the business aspect. This conflict repeatedly surfaces:
In 2020, there was a discussion about a coach from the US training T1 – this was completely unacceptable to the Korean fans:
LoL: Coach to train the most important team in the world – wave of hate washes him away
