Originally Syndicated on March 16, 2024 @ 10:57 pm
Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard, was in controversy over employee abuse.
In September 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed Bobby Kotic as part of their federal investigation into his company.
The SEC had asked for notes recorded during Activision’s board meetings from 2019 to September 2021.
Also, it asked for the files of 6 former employees and separation agreements from that year.
The SEC wanted records of Bobby’s communications with other executives about the sexual harassment and discrimination complaints occurring in Activision Blizzard.
Keep in mind that Activision is already facing a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit in California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The DFEH also complained that Bobby Kotick’s company was shredding documents related to such complaints.
So, the lawsuit became larger.
Furthermore, Bobby Kotick hired an anti-union law firm because of these actions, which drew further criticism from the employees.
You can understand how effective Bobby’s leadership is when you look at “A Better ABK.” ABK stands for Activision Blizzard King, an employee group within the game publisher.
A Better ABK filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board with the Communication Workers of America union in September 2021.
It alleged that Activision Blizzard threatened and intimidated employees to quell any discussion on labor rights violations.
Bobby Kotick Has a Long Past of Controversies
Bobby Kotick has been a controversial figure for quite some time. Let’s look at the DFEH lawsuit against him.
It highlights that Activision Blizzard has fostered an employment of harassment primarily targeting its female staffers.
According to the lawsuit, female employees face constant sexual harassment under Bobby Kotick’s leadership.
Moreover, they have to continually feed off unwarranted sexual advances coming from their male co-workers.
Many of Bobby’s female staff face groping at “cube crawls” and other company events.
The lawsuit reads that high-ranking executives constantly engage in sexual harassment. They face no consequences as well.
To bury the issue and make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, Bobby Kotick released a huge statement promising to address several issues. However, his response missed most of the key problems.
Later, a large group of Activision’s staff organized a walkout in response to Bobby’s statement.
These issues included better pay transparency and the end of forced arbitration.
According to media reports, Bobby Kotick was well aware of the company’s sexual misconduct issues. But he refrained from doing anything about it.
That’s not all.
When the Daily Mail began reporting the story, he got his friend, Meta’s Sheryl Sandberg, to pressure the media house to drop it.
Although he stepped down from Coca-Cola’s board, he remains Activision’s CEO. Even the stakeholders ignored the numerous complaints against him.
Maybe because Bobby claimed he would consider leaving if he can’t fix the issues quickly.
Considering he was complicit in most of the sexual harassment problems, it seems unlikely that he can fix the problems.
Becoming the Most Hated Man in the Gaming Industry:
Although Activision has attracted criticism from gamers for a while due to its ‘micro-transactions’ strategy of making money, the recent revelations have made Bobby Kotick the most hated man on the internet.
Many people believe that Bobby was able to retain his position as CEO of Activision Blizzard only because the shareholders preferred to maintain the status quo.
Keep in mind that Microsoft is considering acquiring Activision Blizzard.
A large section of Bobby’s followers believe that Microsoft will not work with him once the acquisition is complete.
However, it’s unclear whether that will happen or not.
On Reddit, almost every post about Bobby Kotick attracts negative attention. And for the right reasons.
People highlight that Bobby deliberately hid sexual harassment complaints within his company. Moreover, he is complicit in several of the company’s efforts to quell any discussions of labor rights violations.
None of them are minor problems.
More Information on Bobby Kotick
Bobby Kotick became the CEO of Activision in 1991 after buying a company stake in 1990.
He was born in 1963 in New York. In addition to Activision, he has served on the boards of Yahoo, the Coca-Cola Company, and CODE (Call of Duty Endowment).
He was a student at the University of Michigan but dropped out.
The full name of Bobby Kotick is Robert A Kotick.
He has been among the highest-paid executives in the industry. In 2019, he earned $30 million as compensation from Activision Blizzard.
In 2018, he was the US’s 21st most highly compensated CEO.
Conclusion
Now that he has retained the position of CEO at Activision Blizzard, it seems unlikely that things will change in the company.
The only people who risk losing their livelihoods are those who challenge the toxic environment in the gaming firm.
Burying sexual harassment complaints just so “things go smooth” is highly unethical.
It’s vital to raise awareness on this matter. Many wealthy and powerful men get away with sexual harassment complaints because of their status.
What are your thoughts?
