NAVI has terminated its cooperation with streamer and former Valorant pro player Ardiis Svarenieks after a controversy during a Game Changers tournament co-stream. Ardiis and co-streamer Leo used the term ‘Bumblebees’ to refer to certain players, which many viewers interpreted as a transphobic remark. Ardiis later made additional comments, including a joke about changing gender to participate in the league, further fueling the controversy.

Clips from the stream spread on social media, leading to calls from fans for Riot Games and NAVI to take action against the streamers. Ardiis issued an apology on X, acknowledging that his words were unacceptable and expressing regret for offending people. However, he later partially defended himself during subsequent streams, claiming to have received support in private messages and that he was bringing attention to the Game Changers scene.

NAVI released a statement supporting Riot Games’ decision and announced the termination of their cooperation with Ardiis. The organization emphasized that discriminatory behavior or language of any kind is not tolerated.

“We respect and fully support Riot Games’ decision. There is a line that should never be crossed, and discriminatory conduct or language of any kind should never be tolerated. Effective immediately, NAVI is suspending its cooperation with Ardiis,” NAVI said.