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An important statement from Naughty Dog

Absolutely, but it also brings out the 'crazies'. You see it across the board - from banal stuff like haircuts to insane stuff like bomb threats,copycat killers, and strings of suicide.

While something like the current scandal certainly helps people come forward due to the obvious cultural support, the fact that it's in the spotlight also brings out the worst in some people. Especially if someone thinks they can eek out a bit of fame or money. Which is why some people here are very cautious, even if that seems callous. It's no more callous than immediately assuming that a group of individuals are simply covering up a scandal rather than admitting there is a possibility there is nothing to cover up.
This is a wild accusation to make lmao

But people in this thread *aren’t* dismissing the victim at all okay got it
 

Makonero

Member
https://kotaku.com/former-naughty-dog-employee-says-he-was-fired-after-fil-1819557683

Ballard has not responded to multiple messages by Kotaku via phone and e-mail seeking more details on his allegations and reaction to Naughty Dog and Sony’s statement.

Three current and former Naughty Dog employees, all speaking under condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize their careers, all said they had not heard anything about Ballard’s sexual harassment allegations until this weekend and that they were disturbed by the news. Those employees said they did not know or want to speculate who the alleged sexual harasser may be. Each discipline at the studio typically has two leads, and by one estimate there are around two dozen at Naughty Dog.

One current Naughty Dog employee said that he and co-workers he spoke to were “blind-sided” by the news, and that while he believed Ballard’s allegations, he also believed that the studio had been unaware of them. “There definitely is not a culture of covering up bad behavior,” that person said. “I and quite a lot of other people wouldn’t be here if there was.”

It was clear to Ballard’s co-workers that he was upset during his final months at Naughty Dog, those three sources said, and they said his self-acknowledged mental breakdown was clear to everyone at the studio. But people who worked with Ballard said they had thought it was the result of Naughty Dog’s long hours and high-pressure culture.

Hope Ballard starts talking more soon.
 
In early 2016, the situation worsened, and Naughty Dog employees confirm that, as Ballard said on Twitter, he had a difficult mental breakdown. Some of Ballard’s troubles became more widely known in late February of that year after he sent a hostile e-mail to a tech artist that was CCed to everyone at the company, two people said. Various rumors circulated at the studio and the situation was escalated from Naughty Dog’s internal human resources department to Sony’s HR.

This would at least explain why he could be fired without anybody at Naughty Dog suspecting something sinister. If Ballard is telling the truth then it is really looking to reflect terribly on Sony's HR.
 
Since no one is corroborating his claims of sexual harassment and there doesn't seem to be a record of his complaint to HR, where does Ballard go from here?

A start would be giving a more detailed account to Kotaku who are actively investigating. I have sympathy for him because he must feel completely overwhelmed at the moment but unfortunately you can't put the genie back in the bottle, if he refuses to talk any further it leaves both him and Naughty Dog in a terrible situation with no closure and his harasser potentially getting away without so much as their name being out there so others might feel more compelled to speak up about him/her.
 
This would at least explain why he could be fired without anybody at Naughty Dog suspecting something sinister. If Ballard is telling the truth then it is really looking to reflect terribly on Sony's HR.

If he cc’d everyone in the company in a “nasty” personal email directed at another employee who had nothing to do with the harassment complaint, doesn’t that look better for Sony? They have irrefutable proof of him creating a hostile work environment, despite allegedly being ignorant to what was really bugging him.
 
If he cc’d everyone in the company in a “nasty” personal email directed at another employee who had nothing to do with the harassment complaint, doesn’t that look better for Sony? They have irrefutable proof of him creating a hostile work environment, despite allegedly being ignorant to what was really bugging him.

No, it should be their duty to investigate claims of sexual harassment and seeing somebody claim they snapped like that due to it should be even more reason to get to the bottom of the issue so it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, if it's as bad as it sounds I suspect David would have been fired for that either way but it's starting to sound like Sony HR just brushed it under the carpet because nobody would be any the wiser when they fired him.
 
No, it should be their duty to investigate claims of sexual harassment and seeing somebody claim they snapped like that due to it should be even more reason to get to the bottom of the issue so it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, if it's as bad as it sounds I suspect David would have been fired for that either way but it's starting to sound like Sony HR just brushed it under the carpet because nobody would be any the wiser when they fired him.

Again, how do you start an investigation if the only witness is not forthcoming? According to the other thread there are literally dozens of managers at the studio.
 

Hellshy.

Member
No, it should be their duty to investigate claims of sexual harassment and seeing somebody claim they snapped like that due to it should be even more reason to get to the bottom of the issue so it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, if it's as bad as it sounds I suspect David would have been fired for that either way but it's starting to sound like Sony HR just brushed it under the carpet because nobody would be any the wiser when they fired him.

I mean if they have proof of him sending hostile emails but no solid proof of his contact with HR shoes up, I think it looks better for Sony and not worse. You are looking at it under the assumption everything Ballard said is true which of course is very possible.
 
Again, how do you start an investigation if the only witness is not forthcoming? According to the other thread there are literally dozens of managers at the studio.
I'm a bit confused about what you're saying. I'm saying it looks bad on Sony HR at the time, when David claims he told them about the harassment and before he was fired. He was forthcoming at that point if his version of events is accurate. It's unclear whether he gave HR a name at the time but I'm sure if brought up the harassment he'd have been willing to do so.

As of right now they can not do an investigation if they have absolutely nothing to go on, I agree.

I mean if they have proof of him sending hostile emails but no solid proof of his contact with HR shoes up, I think it looks better for Sony and not worse. You are looking at it under the assumption everything Ballard said is true which of course is very possible.

My original post did say "If Ballard is telling the truth..." so yes. If he's not telling the truth then clearly Naughty Dog and Sony have no case to answer. We do know he dealt with Sony HR though, just not whether allegations of sexual assault were ever made as part of that.
 
Since no one is corroborating his claims of sexual harassment and there doesn't seem to be a record of his complaint to HR, where does Ballard go from here?

There were several other anonymous claims of similar harassment raised following Ballards claims. Not specifically corroborating his claim, but it's unrealistic that a large dev is going to have 100% well forward thinking sensitive employees.
 

Thorrgal

Member
Since no one is corroborating his claims of sexual harassment and there doesn't seem to be a record of his complaint to HR, where does Ballard go from here?

At this point im time, if more people was harassed at ND they should/would start talking, or people that heard or kbow about it. If noone else comes forward...
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member

Yeah, this looks rough
hJTk23v.png
 

Papacheeks

Banned
That is fucking terrible. I really want to know how old the ND employee was that said that.

Sounds like some young dumb ass, like where was this person raised who has the audacity to say that to another professional? Especially if that person is press trying to give the developer exposure time for their project no less.

I feel privileged I guess that my parents were old-school and taught me how to act among other professional's or just how to act period.

Jesus.
 

CookTrain

Member
That is fucking terrible. I really want to know how old the ND employee was that said that.

Sounds like some young dumb ass, like where was this person raised who has the audacity to say that to another professional? Especially if that person is press trying to give the developer exposure time for their project no less.

I feel privileged I guess that my parents were old-school and taught me how to act among other professional's or just how to act period.

Jesus.

I don't know that age comes into it. Predatory behaviour seems to have no age limit as long as the person thinks they will get away with it. Maybe worsens with age, given that.

There was some corroboration when the initial claim came out that this sort of situation wasn't unheard of at Naughty Dog, but that seemed to get left aside. I'm glad to see someone else is confident enough to come forward now.
 

TheModestGun

Neo Member
Man... this is not good. I wonder if same or different person? I really wish names would start getting dropped so the cancer can be cut out.


Even on the off chance that remark was intended as a joke, that is not even remotely ok especially in a professional context.
 

dugdug

Banned
Even on the off chance that remark was intended as a joke, that is not even remotely ok especially in a professional context.

It reads to me like a *really* awful and uncalled-for joke (that would never be asked of a male reporter) as opposed to Ballard's harassment claims, but, it does appear ND need to start some heavier background checks on people before bringing them on board.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
It reads to me like a *really* awful and uncalled-for joke (that would never be asked of a male reporter) as opposed to Ballard's harassment claims, but, it does appear ND need to start some heavier background checks on people before bringing them on board.

harassment is harassment, joking or not. intent is irrelevant.
 
jfc the complete lack of self awareness on some people (the dev not her) is astounding. Like how fucked up or developmentally stunted do you have to be to think it's okay to ask something like that in a professional setting, even if you are joking?
I work in a corporate setting. You'd be amazed at how brazen and disgusting some people are when it comes to making comments like that, and openly so.

Thankfully, the two biggest culprits in our department have found other jobs as of quite recently (they were both in positions of authority) so the office morale has gone up significantly since then.

Some people are just crass beyond rational thinking.
 

Lady Gaia

Member
Hooooooly fuck. Do some of these people have no home training? You shouldn’t even think about uttering such a phrase in a professional context much less as a fucking joke.

This is a country where the people who claim the moral high ground still feel no shame in electing serial adulterers and harassers and perpetuating normalization of rape culture. Is it really a huge shock that there are employees like this in every company? Calling them out is one part of dealing with the problem, but getting people to admit that we have a systemic problem is still a challenge.
 
D

Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
This is a country where the people who claim the moral high ground still feel no shame in electing serial adulterers and harassers and perpetuating normalization of rape culture. Is it really a huge shock that there are employees like this in every company? Calling them out is one part of dealing with the problem, but getting people to admit that we have a systemic problem is still a challenge.

Yep. Tip of the iceberg, and cutting a piece out of one body won't change the problem at all.
 

GLAMr

Member
Yeah, this looks rough
hJTk23v.png
My mother would belt me if she heard me say something like that. As in my decrepit 50-something mother would literally grab a belt and beat seven shades of shit out of my grown ass 32 year old self. I honestly couldn't imagine uttering such a thing.

Who the fuck is raising somebody to think this is OK?
 
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