eSports Giant Method is Facing Fallout from Mishandling Sexual Abuse

Method is a massive eSports organization with teams in an array of games, but players and partners are leaving after allegations that Method did nothing to stop a member now accused of rape and inappropriate sexual messages to underage women. First, we will cover what happened, then why Method is taking some of the blame, and lastly the community response.

Due to “covering things up” the timeline of the events is a bit scattered but the snowball really started rolling when twitter user @2Alexmae5 posted a TwitLonger explaining her interactions with Method’s World of Warcraft healer Josh. She explains that on many occasions Josh sent inappropriate messages and images to her when she was only 16 years old. Method social media manager Darrie quickly responded expressing deep regret and within an hour, Method terminated Josh’s contract. This was just the beginning. More accusations starting coming in on twitter. You can find them below, they deserved to be heard. The accusations included multiple inappropriate messages to underaged women, grooming young women, and rape.

This is not the first time Josh’s behavior has been questioned. In 2019, a Kotaku article by Cecilia D’Anastasio pointed out Josh’s disturbing behavior and correspondence with a 17-year-old viewer named Caroline. Police investigated the claims but couldn’t find enough to prosecute.

Once the storm of accusation had arrived, Method fans began claiming that Method knew of Josh’s actions but said nothing to continue using his services. Method responded with a statement saying,

“It has been circulating on social media that Method and specifically the guild were internally aware of the extent of Josh’s behaviour; this is categorically untrue and sickening to read…” – Method

This sparked outrage. Prominent eSports journalists Rod “Slasher” Breslau took to twitter to share that,

“multiple former Blizzard employees have told me Method’s newest statement is a lie and that members within Method have been aware of Josh’s behavior for quite a while” – Rod Breslau

Method than began to lose players, partners, and sponsors rapidly. One of the biggest names in PC gaming, Corsair, put out a tweet saying they have ended their relationship with Method at this time. Twitch is on the attack releasing a post that they will be going after anyone related to Josh’s misconduct. Twitch is the primary source of Methods income. Wowhead that is run by Fanbyte is also leaving Method behind. World of Warcraft’s biggest streamers and casters have stepped out like Esfand, Nash, PandaTV, and Preach. Preach is an excellent caster and streamer and was working with them at a world-first race. He brought his kids but first asked about Josh’s investigation as it was ongoing. Method told Preach that it was all proven innocent and there was nothing wrong. This is a breach of trust in the community. The players are leaving as well. They are removing all Method branding from their Twitch profiles, Twitter accounts, and all stream overlays. Even Darrie, the social media manager, is leaving the company.

This is so much information coming over just two days so we are all still processing everything. Method was once a powerhouse that was poised to be a tent pole of eSports but is now collapsing. We will discuss this on the next podcast and add more here as the news continues.