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Fluff's blog last Wednesday entitled "Crash and Burn: I'm done waiting", put several internal issues into the public eye, including the team's morale, friendships and ability to succeed in competition. Although, the underlying theme that he was unhappy that he was not in a leadership role. "These days, I'm just that one guy who plays support with curly hair (guess what, we have two of those now). I'm a rather negligible character these days and it does honestly damage my ego," said Fluff.
Fluff said the following in his initial post:
"Team Liquid has been a joke for as long as I can remember; Nothing but a streak of disappointing results and inconsistent play. Everyone looks at us and says, "Hey they are team that will let me down" and "Hey their team has so much potential, but I wouldn't bet my money on them." We're losers, we just are. And I'm a bigger loser for letting all of this happen. I don't know how many blogs I've put out that stressed the improvement of our team that basically led to empty promises of success."
Brian "FLUFFNSTUFF" Lee
The initial blog ended with an ultimatum that "I'm going to try and be the person that I would've wanted to see. If that means leaving everything I have behind me and building from the ground up, I'll do it. If it means that I have to disqualify myself from this years International, then I'll chance it. I've done it before and I can do it again. You follow me or you get out of my way."
The post which for obvious reasons cast TeamLiquid in a bad light attracted a lot of attention from fans of the team, some expecting Fluff to be removed from the team, while others hoped his comments would help to fix whatever was broken with the flagship American team. Since his comments
TeamLiquid have only played three matches, winning 2 of them, including a 2-0 victory against 
Cloud9 in the MLG T.K.O. USA which FLuff drafted for. The match was less of a priority for Cloud9 who were already in a comfortable position to qualify for stage3 of the competition, with one jD user commenting "Damn, Envy threw the game on purpose so Fluff wouldn't kill himself. Today, EE-sama had mercy...." However, it was a solid victory for Team Liquid and a good omen for the future as they look ahead to getting their team back on track. Despite the victory against Cloud9 there was still the issue of Fluff's attitude towards the organisation and his team-mates through his blog, with Fluff having to swallow his pride through an official apology earlier today.Brian "FLUFFNSTUFF" Lee's opening statement:
First of all, I truly want to apologize to everyone who's been affected by the post. I had not considered the ramifications in its entirety involving anyone other than myself. It was a selfish post that insulted the integrity of everything Team Liquid stands for. As a player for the team, it was my responsibility to uphold the values of our organization and, in particular, our CEO Nazgul. I've betrayed and damaged many of the relationships with the people whom I directly work with. It's inexcusable and I feel tremendously guilty for what I've done. I'm very sorry for betraying our fans and who've been nothing but generous in their support for our team. I accept full responsibility for my actions and I hope that, at the very least, I can express my regret with this blog.
I think that there are a lot of things that I need to own up to and apologize for. In the last blog I wrote a lot of things out of pure frustration and pent up anger. Without any hesitation or time to breathe I submitted the blog. Needless to say, it was a massive mistake and a lesson learned: Do not act on emotion, write it down and sleep on it.
I think that there are a lot of things that I need to own up to and apologize for. In the last blog I wrote a lot of things out of pure frustration and pent up anger. Without any hesitation or time to breathe I submitted the blog. Needless to say, it was a massive mistake and a lesson learned: Do not act on emotion, write it down and sleep on it.
Brian "FLUFFNSTUFF" Lee
The remainder of the slightly long-winded apology sees Fluff attempt to justify his actions by explaining in more detail the detrimental effect of not having a clear leader. "What occurred during those events was a 3-way contest for leadership. From one game to the next, our ideas clashed. Some games I would heavily influence the draft and others would feel undermined, and others I would be quiet and feel resentment," said Fluff.
However, Fluff still accepted the full brunt of the blame:
"The times that I've felt disrespected have come from the times that I, in my head, had not gotten my childish way. The opinions I've expressed and the thoughts I've had had often been radical and extremely arrogant. I had felt urges to defend my beliefs and got overly defensive when they came under assault. I undermined the work of my teammates by commanding authority when it wasn't my place to accept responsibility. I had not completely understood the fact that I do not have the right to force my ideas onto our leadership in my position. I pushed and pushed and pushed and let our team tank results as a result of a mix of too many ideas. I accept all of the responsibility for whatever disrespect I felt and I hope that it's clarified that no one made me feel that way except myself."
In my anger, I oversimplified the relationships I have with the people on my team. I threw them under a bus and disrespected their achievements. For all the hardships we've endured and all the achievements we've shared, there is so much more to Team Liquid. I honestly admire so many things about each of my teammates."
In my anger, I oversimplified the relationships I have with the people on my team. I threw them under a bus and disrespected their achievements. For all the hardships we've endured and all the achievements we've shared, there is so much more to Team Liquid. I honestly admire so many things about each of my teammates."
Brian "FLUFFNSTUFF" Lee
You can read the entire apology on TeamLiquid
TeamLiquid owner Nazgul also added his thoughts:
Less than a week ago Brian "FLUFF" Lee posted a public blog that Liquid as an organization must address. There were things said in the blog that are not acceptable for me as an individual as well as for the organization I have led for so long. Some of you called for his removal from the team, and although that was an option we considered, it is not the route we chose to take.
After FLUFF posted the blog, needless to say I was upset with it. What I saw was a public ultimatum towards my employees as well as his colleagues and teammates, communicated in public instead of privately. The blog goes against many of the values I try to employ in my life and my company. Removing Brian from the team was seriously considered. Our internal process after the blog went live could have went in many directions based on how our five players reacted to it. What you can see from Brian's latest blog is that after it happened, he showed regret and we had several productive talks on how to go forward. With his mature response to an immature act we were able to figure out how to move past this.
The blog should never have been posted, and many of the things in it do not serve any purpose. However, it is clear that there is truth in it as well. The team does need a leader. The players do lack communication. The team does need a bold change.
After FLUFF posted the blog, needless to say I was upset with it. What I saw was a public ultimatum towards my employees as well as his colleagues and teammates, communicated in public instead of privately. The blog goes against many of the values I try to employ in my life and my company. Removing Brian from the team was seriously considered. Our internal process after the blog went live could have went in many directions based on how our five players reacted to it. What you can see from Brian's latest blog is that after it happened, he showed regret and we had several productive talks on how to go forward. With his mature response to an immature act we were able to figure out how to move past this.
The blog should never have been posted, and many of the things in it do not serve any purpose. However, it is clear that there is truth in it as well. The team does need a leader. The players do lack communication. The team does need a bold change.
You can read his full response here
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