Smart Omega gold laner Duane "Kelra" Pillas released a public apology on Sunday night, August 15 after making homophobic comments towards the Blacklist International duo of Jonmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario during a livestream.
In a video clip from the stream of RRQ Hoshi player Albert “Alberttt” Iskandar which already made rounds in social media, Kelra blurted obscene jokes against the "V33Wise" tandem.
"Taos puso po akong humihingi ng tawad at pasensya sa lahat ng taong naapektuhan at nasaktan sa aking mga nasabi," said the 16-year-old in a lengthy post on his Facebook page.
"Inaamin ko po na ako ay nagkamali at hindi nag-isip sa mga maaring mangyari, naging immature at iresponsable ako. Hindi ko po itinatanggi ang isyu, inaamin ko po na di ko nag-isip na maaring may mga taong masaktan sa mga salitang nabitawan ko," he continued.
"Ako po ay lubos na humihingi ng pasensya sa mga taong nasaktan ko, sa buong LGBTQ+ community at sa lahat ng tao na naapektuhan."
Kelra also said that he already sent a personal message of apology to OhMyV33nus and Wise while also asking for forgiveness from the Blacklist Agents and V33Wise Fam--the fandoms of Blacklist and the respected duo, respectively--as well as the whole MLBB community.
The young stalwart, who won the Finals MVP award for helping Execration rule the MSC 2021 against Blacklist last June, promised to change for the better following this controversy.
"Nangangako po akong magiging mabuting tao at pagsisikapin ko po na maging mas mabuting role model bilang isang professional player dahil po sa issue na 'to. Sorry po sa lahat ng nasaktan," he concluded.
Fans immediately came in defense of Wise and OhMyV33nus, who also got support from organizations and MPL personalities after receiving sexist remarks from uncivilized fans following their first and only series loss in Season 7.
MPL Philippines has issued a statement regarding the incident and slapped Kelra with a 14-day suspension starting on the first day of the season. The league also imposed an undisclosed fine to the player.