Home Gaming NRG Esports fires San Francisco Shock team manager over sexual assault allegations

NRG Esports fires San Francisco Shock team manager over sexual assault allegations

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Shock
Max Bateman, third from the left, has been fired by NRG Esports after allegations of sexual assault

I don’t know what it is with esports industry folk and the terrible treatment of women lately. Of course, we had our own our own local drama, which was followed by reports of domestic abuse from Chinese League of Legends player Li “Vasilii” Wei Jun.

Now, a former manager for NRG Esports and the team manager for its Overwatch League team The San Francisco Shock, has been accused of sexual assault. I say former because NRG has, given the circumstances, done the right thing and given him the boot. According to the allegations by Twitch streamer Dezaray Luna, Maxwell Bateman took advantage of her without her consent.

In an extended Tweet (via Twitlonger), Luna detailed what happened after she had shared an evening with one of her “closest friends,” that may have resulted in a spiked drink.

“At this point I was in and out of consciousness. I remember Max laying next to me but didn’t think anything of it because we’ve shared a bed in the past and nothing’s happened.That’s when he sexually assaulted me. In my mind I knew what was happening wasn’t right but I couldn’t move. I was frozen. After I woke up I got my keys from his car and he dropped me off at home. A few days after I started remembering more of what happened I confronted him through text-messages and told him what happened the other night wasn’t okay- that we were friends and nothing more. He even admits what he did wasn’t right and that I never gave him permission to do this in any way.”

Further to that, Batemen has apparently admitted his impropriety, leaning on the excuse that he believed she was sober.

Unfortunately, police don’t seem to want to do very much about it – but at least his employers have. As for Bateman himself, he says he’ll be posting a statement tomorrow.

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Last Updated: November 7, 2017

32 Comments

  1. Admiral Chief

    November 7, 2017 at 13:50

    Terrible.

    Now, one thing troubles me here: “because we’ve shared a bed in the past and nothing’s happened”

    100% what he did was wrong. Totally. But why share a bed with someone that is not your significant other?

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      November 7, 2017 at 14:10

      I often get slammed for victim blaming, but there is a difference (in my mind), to being an independent free person and another to not taking due care and attention to your environment.

      If I walk around Manchester shopping centers in my Liverpool top I expect heckling but that’s about it. If I walk around their dodgy areas at night in the same outfit I expect to be beaten to a pulp.

      Just because people SHOULDN’T react in a certain manner doesn’t mean they won’t and you should be taking due care and attention to your environment and your place in it.

      Anyway in this scenario, it seems that he 100% owned up to his behavior, the professional organisation rightly kicked him to the curb and all in all it seems this is now wrapped up.

      Reply

      • Tracy Benson

        November 7, 2017 at 15:33

        I get what you mean about taking due care and attention to your environment, but she was in all likelihood drugged by a close friend – someone she never, ever, ever expected to do this to her. She trusted this guy implicitly, why would she have been hyper-alert with him if they were best friends?

        Reply

        • Allykhat

          November 7, 2017 at 16:04

          Did I miss something? He admitted to being grossly inappropriate, but where did he admit to drugging her?

          Where is the proof he drugged her? You are speculating… HARD.

          Disclaimer:
          This sick f### should be prosecuted, in my view, for sexual assault. I believe he is 100% guilty of taking advantage of her while she was in a vulnerable state.

          As I’ve been saying with all these stories that keep popping up… The PROOF is what we need, not death by social media.

          Reply

          • Tracy Benson

            November 7, 2017 at 16:17

            Well, that’s why I said “in all likelihood”. Also, as she states: “I had a normal amount of drinks and started to feel sick which wasn’t normal. The last one I had was made by Max.” – that’s pretty damning.

            * edit to add, even if it wasn’t Max that drugged her, even if she wasn’t drugged, and the end of the day it was Max that assaulted her when she was in a vulnerable, mind-altered state, leading back to my point about why would she keep her guard up permanently around someone she trusts?

          • Allykhat

            November 8, 2017 at 08:07

            How is that damning? It’s nothing but speculation.

            We arent arguing about the fact that Max took advantage of her, I completely agree with you in that regard, but you need to check yourself when it comes to speculation. He admitted to taking advantage of her, sure, that is cold hard proof that he did take advantage of her, but there is no hard proof that she was drugged by him, if she was even drugged at all. Just because “her last drink was made by Max” doesn’t mean that was the drink that was spiked. Could it have been? Sure… but we’re just speculating.

            I’ve been drugged before too while partying, and I know what it’s like. I live in Durban but due to… events… I woke up in Jozi the next day not knowing who or where I was. Not a story I’ll go further into, but yeah, it wasn’t great. To this day I still don’t remember what happened, so the fact that she can recall what happened after some time is a bit of a flag for me due to my own experiences.

            SO in closing, she was assaulted. Fact. Take him to book for that. Whether she was drugged or not at this point cannot be proven 100% without blood tests and the stuff will be out of her system by now, so that’s shot.

            Stick to facts. We’ll all be better off.

    • Tracy Benson

      November 7, 2017 at 15:30

      Um, because sleep doesn’t equal sex? I have shared a bed with a close friend of the opposite sex on numerous occasions who was not my significant other and guess what? Nothing happened (except for him complaining about my snoring). You know why nothing happened? Because he’s my friend. I trust my friends not to sexually assault me or take advantage of me (or possibly drug me, like what seems to have happened to this woman). Why should you not sleep in the bed of someone who you implicitly trust?

      Reply

      • Allykhat

        November 7, 2017 at 16:07

        This comment I do agree with. I’ve done the same with chick friends on multiple occasions, both with them and/or myself being out of our minds drunk, etc and nothing untoward has happened. If it’s a case where the girl has a BF/Hubby that isn’t around, floor or couch for me, whichever is available.

        Reply

  2. Original Heretic

    November 7, 2017 at 14:00

    Something has changed.
    After reading about more and more of these sexual assaults in recent times, and the actions that companies are taking against the people who “allegedly” did these things, it makes me wonder why there’s this sudden shift.
    These things have been going on for years. Decades.
    And now suddenly something is being done about it? Now suddenly all the news outlets are reporting on it?
    What changed? What happened?

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      November 7, 2017 at 14:08

      It’s very standard, one bug story (Weinstein) gives people the courage to come out about what happened to them. There’s no conspiracy here, unfortunately lot of people are complete assholes

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        November 7, 2017 at 14:11

        Correct, 3/5 people are asshats

        Reply

      • Original Heretic

        November 7, 2017 at 14:13

        But people have been coming out about these things for years. And nobody bothered to do anything about it, covering it up to smooth things over.
        Now, it seems as if the same people who were involved to the cover ups are the ones who are also pointing fingers at everyone else to keep the spotlight off themselves.

        As an example, Cory Feldman has been very vocal about the pedophilia in Hollywood. In a TV interview with Barbara Walters, when he spoke about it, her response was “You’re damaging a whole industry here.”
        Now, if we look at things today, what do you think Walters would say now?

        Nope, I don’t buy that this all comes down to Weinstein’s shit.
        Something happened.

        Reply

        • Gavin Mannion

          November 7, 2017 at 14:16

          Social media happened, gatekeepers like Walters couldn’t snuff a story out

          Reply

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 14:20

            That is one possibility.
            But I still wonder.
            This whole thing stinks to me of misdirection.
            Don’t get me wrong, I fully agree that all these victims should speak out against their accusers. People who prey on others, they all deserve to be shot in the kneecaps and left to bleed.

            But I cannot help but that think that something else is or is going to be happening very soon.

          • BakedBagel

            November 7, 2017 at 14:56

            Everything is shifting Heretic, i feel you man. Something happened behind the scene that shook people to their core, and now are trying to make it right.

            I mean the one crown prince in Saudi has arrested 11 other princes. Powerful people are being knocked down a couple pegs.

            Who knows why.
            Edit: The timeline we are on is wild. Trump is President. we have 367 different genders. Bitcoin is trading like a fucking bull. Lebanon declared war against Saud apparently. Where does the train ride stop?

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 15:08

            The Saudi’s….. I read this just today:
            https://www.sott.net/article/366782-Saudi-princess-reveals-Kingdoms-dark-side-Orgies-with-underage-girls-heavy-drug-and-alcohol-abuse

            Sick shit, man.

            And yeah, something is certainly happening behind the curtains.
            With all these questions I have, I hope that one day my raging desire for answers will one day be satisfied.

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          November 7, 2017 at 14:18

          Well it can only go so far before it reaches a tipping point. And the massive expose on Weinstein was the tipping point. People have always been happy to cover this shit up because the person accused is making them a lot of money, there’s also a culture of silence around it because those involved can ruin the careers of anyone daring to speak, and very few were willing to go there.

          Reply

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 14:27

            If we were dealing with normal people here, I’d agree with you.

            But when it comes to the rich and powerful, we’re not. We’re dealing with the most hypocritical bunch of fucking people who infest this world. Every day I read articles about how these assholes take the ordinary citizens for a ride, how there is very clearly one set of rules for the world, and another set of rules for them.

            When someone as rich and powerful as Weinstein, someone who was part of that sick culture, is suddenly outed, it means that whoever was protecting him is no longer doing so.
            Why? What really happened?!

          • Geoffrey Tim

            November 7, 2017 at 14:29

            I think the Cosby thing is what really helped this along.

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 14:37

            That’s small fry compared to the big fish out there who are still doing these things.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 7, 2017 at 14:39

            Well let’s hope this is the start of all the fish getting fried.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 7, 2017 at 14:33

            Other rich & powerful people turned on him, combined with social pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were looking for a reason/excuse to do so for a long time.

            I think Netflix deserves a lot of credit for the way they’ve handled the Kevin Spacey situation. There was the account from Rapp, they suspended him, got more info, a week later he was gone. No fucking around. People can cynically argue they only did it because they might lose subs if they did nothing, but I doubt they would’ve lost that many in reality, and the new season of House of Cards will cost a bit more money to make now – if it even goes forward.

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 14:41

            The rich and powerful don’t give one shit about social pressure. If anything, it’s just another tool for them to use and redirect as they see fit.
            That thing you say about looking for an excuse, that makes a modicum of sense to me.
            Because I can bloody guarantee you that there are STILL women being abused in Hollywood, there are STILL kids suffering horribly at the hands of these assholes who just do what they want.
            And Hollywood is only one of the Hydra’s heads.

            I hate thinking about this shit. It so disgusts me.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            November 7, 2017 at 14:47

            Of course it’s still going on, and yes – it’s disgusting. It’s true what you said about there being a separate set of rules for those higher up the ladder, and there’s always been this tacit understanding that they can get away with stuff others can’t, but only so long as they keep it “undercover” to an extent. Because their associates don’t want to get tarred with the same brush, and/or come crashing down with them. It’s a sick reality of the world that morals/ethics regularly takes a back seat to money despite what those in positions to actually do something about it say – because they’re often the perpetrators.

          • Original Heretic

            November 7, 2017 at 15:09

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      November 7, 2017 at 14:10

      A big domino finally got toppled.

      Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      November 7, 2017 at 14:12

      People are emboldened to speak up – and that’s a good thing.

      Reply

  3. Ottokie

    November 7, 2017 at 14:10

    Maybe now he can get a easy paying job at Activision like those other useless youtubers who ran the CSGO gambling site.

    Reply

  4. BakedBagel

    November 7, 2017 at 14:53

    SAN FRANCISCO

    No shock here to be honest.

    Reply

  5. RinceThis

    November 7, 2017 at 15:09

    What a piece of trash

    Reply

  6. Allykhat

    November 8, 2017 at 16:14

    @OddSockZA:disqus

    Is there any plan to do a follow up on this article? I see Max released a statement:

    http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sqaee4

    Reply

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