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One of my favorite books of all time is “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie. It’s a mystery novel about a group of people who are summoned to an island and killed off one by one after it’s discovered that each of them have committed terrible crimes and have gotten away with it.
So let’s recap what happened last week and why this is more catastrophic than we realize. Why the right people are not facing any punishment.
T-Mobile Disconnects
No explanation was officially given as of publishing, but it’s very safe to assume it is because of the lawsuit.
Understandably, this sent the OWL community into a panic. Many fans believed that this was finally the beginning of the end.
And then there were six. But that wouldn’t last long.
The Domino Effect
A day later on August 3rd, the same day as their earnings call, Blizzardreleased a statementout to the community stating that J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard, would be stepping down and be replaced with “co-leaders” Jen Oneal and Mike Ybarra. The head of global human resourcesalso stepped downdue to the department’s complicity with Blizzard’s hostile culture.
That may sound like progress. But as pointed out by Jason Scherier, a reporter for Bloomberg, titles are important in the corporate world. It became much more clear that this is more damage control on the part of CEO Bobby Kotick than implementing real culture change.
This is also not mentioning that these staff changes weren’t part of the employees’list of demandsthey sent to Blizzard leadership.
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Cheez-It and Pringles also followed suit on Friday. And as the fallout continued, it seems as of today, August 8th, IBM and State Farm have officially pulled their support. They no longer appear on the Partners page on the Overwatch League website.
Activision Blizzard Employee: We “Demand Better Working Conditions”
Activision Blizzard employees have planned a walkout for Wednesday, July 28th to protest the incendiary response from company leadership to a lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
Brittany “Briggsycakes” Gonzalez Gonzalez
Course Correction
OWL Twitter was in an uproar, claiming that the League was dead and many fans publicly experiencing a range of emotions between hardened cynicism and unadulterated despair. Some even called for talent to comment on these. They do not fully understanding that they are just collateral damage for things completely out of their control.
It affects the players that fans admire for their skills and personalities. It affects the staff who put incalculable time and effort into their work to provide an incredible experience. And because it’s easier to not think about the very real possibility that those who caused this will probably never be held truly accountable, it’s easier to look at those who we see on TV for any real change. And it isn’t fair.
So to see an esport potentially die because of the toxic actions of its parent company is tragic. Especially since there truly are people who work there who want change and to be inclusive. They are the ones being punished for crimes they didn’t even commit.
Furthermore, this was after one week. Imagine what will happen in the weeks to come, with the offseason fast approaching and people truly unsure if there will be a fifth season. All because of the pervasive reality of a toxic work environment for women, non-women and people of color. And then I’d have to utter the now immortal words of the rhyme that could very well spell the end:
“And then there were none.”
The ABK Workers Alliance reject Activision Blizzard’s choice of law firm
Activision Blizzard chose WilmerHale, a law firm known as a ‘union-butsing firm’. None of their four demands have been met so far.
