Polymarket Faces Backlash After Indian-American CLO Apologizes for Company's Racist Post

Polymarket is facing increased criticism for having an Indian-American executive address a racist incident on behalf of the company.

Following a controversial post containing racist language, Polymarket's Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Neal Kumar, released an official statement. Kumar expressed remorse for the post, stating that the company was accepting "full responsibility" for the incident. The deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) reportedly contained racial slurs while accusing users from India, Nigeria, and Turkey of creating fake female profiles.

"The post earlier this week from an unofficial Company account was unacceptable, and we take full responsibility. As an Indian American, looking up the history of the term sucked," Kumar stated.

"I've always found engagement to be far more effective than rage, and believe this came from a place of misunderstanding, not hate. Uncomfortable conversations to understand each other is a practice to live and breathe, and we had one here this week to make us stronger. We apologise for the pain and we are committed to doing better."

Despite Kumar's attempt to resolve the situation, his statement received a community note highlighting that the original racist post came from a verified Polymarket-affiliated account.

"The racist post came from a verified Polymarket-affiliated account and was reposted by their Growth Lead William LeGate. Neither LeGate nor Polymarket's official account has apologised; only the Indian-American CLO has," the community note explained.

The post earlier this week from an unofficial Company account was unacceptable, and we take full responsibility. As an Indian American, looking up the history of the term sucked. I've always found engagement to be far more effective than rage, and believe this came from a place…

— Neal Kumar (@HereComesKumar) November 26, 2025

'Why Are You Apologising?'

Kumar's apology was not well received by social media users, who questioned why an Indian-American executive was apologizing for racial attacks against Indians.

"Why are you, as an Indian, apologising instead of whoever is responsible," one user commented, while another added: "Neal, I like your company a lot and fully plan on using it when it arrives in the US, but Polymarket's social media strategy is the worst I've ever seen. Almost every official account tweets rage bait, misinformation, and lies. All just to drive engagement."

Another user remarked: "While strongly against cancel culture, you need to make it right the correct way. post the apology from your official polymarket account and have your head of growth apologise, if you genuinely believe any wrong was done."

A fourth comment stated: "There's no way that someone hired for being extremely online doesn't know what it means and its origin. It was listed along nationalities. We aren't stupid."