Turtle Rock community manager fired for defending Sterling on Twitter - Polidicks

[IMG]http://www.gameranx.com/img/14-May/josholintweet610-1.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]Josh Olin, the community and eSports manager at Evolve developer Turtle Rock Studios, is no longer with the company in the wake of a series of remarks related to vilified Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Olin, a former community manager at Treyarch Studios (Call of Duty: Black Ops) and Riot Games (League of Legends), said on Twitter on Wednesday, "Here's an unpopular opinion: Donald Sterling has the right as an American to be an old bigot in the security of his own home. He's a victim." The tweet was in reference to Donald Sterling's private racist remarks being made public, the ensuing media attention and punishment meted out by NBA league commissioner Adam Silver. The commissioner announced on Tuesday that Sterling was banned for life from NBA events and would pay a fine of $2.5 million. Silver is also attempting to force a sale of the Clippers. After Olin's remarks hit Twitter, some of his followers — he has some 142,000 — challenged the original tweet. "When you were raised in an era where segregation was perceived as 'right', that will stick with some people," Olin later said. "Doesn't make him a monster." Olin later clarified that he believed Sterling was a victim because of "illegal wiretapping resulting in a MASSIVE, life altering breach in privacy." Today, Olin tweeted he was "expressly not defending [Sterling's] remarks or actions." The situation appears to have come to a head today, with developer Turtle Rock tweeting, "The comments made by our former community manager stand in stark contrast to our values as a game development studio. We sincerely apologize for his remarks and in no way endorse or support those views." Olin said the situation was "very poorly handled by malleable management." Polygon has reached out to Turtle Rock Studios seeking comment. A representative for 2K Games, which is publishing Evolve, declined to comment, but confirmed that Olin is no longer at Turtle Rock. Olin said in an email to Polygon that "it appears" he was fired and called the situation "developing." He provided the following statement: "Anyone who follows me knows my tweets were not in support of Sterling's actions. Rather, they were promoting three core tenets I believe in: 1) The harm sensational media presents to society. 2) The importance and sanctity of your privacy within your own home. And 3) The right to be whatever you want to be as an American, as long as it isn't hurting anyone else. That last point not to be confused with condoning Sterling's actions, which I don't. "That said, it's disappointing to see that a select few in Turtle Rock and 2K Games management bought into this hysteria without even having a conversation with me - or even thoroughly reviewing the context of the tweets themselves. Ironically, it serves as a great example of why I hold tenet #1 above so close to heart. That said, everyone should totally still buy Evolve. The guys and gals making that game know their ***, and are making it good." [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.polygon.com/2014/5/1/5673218/turtle-rock-community-manager-josh-olin-twitter-donald-sterling[/url] Honestly why would you bother doing this? Like geez you had it good.

If this Twitter account is officially linked to Turtle Rock then it's justified, but if this is his personal account then it has to be illegal to fire him for stating a personal opinion. Also I agree that people are making a bigger deal out of this than it should be. Breaking news, old people are often racist fucks, who knew.

[QUOTE=The Baconator;44700538]Honestly why would you bother doing this? Like geez you had it good.[/QUOTE] Because he has the right to share and vocalize his opinions? Honestly, fuck Turtle Rock. You don't fire someone for having an opinion especially when he's not even being aggressive about it. Olin should sue.

[QUOTE=l337k1ll4;44700554]If this Twitter account is officially linked to Turtle Rock then it's justified, but if this is his personal account then it has to be illegal to fire him for stating a personal opinion.[/QUOTE] Companies don't like bad PR. This community manager stating his opinions could hurt the sales of Evolve

It's ok for people to have an opinion on both sides of issues. Just don't say some of those opinions unless you want the pink line to unemployment land.

[QUOTE=redBadger;44700573]Companies don't like bad PR. This community manager stating his opinions could hurt the sales of Evolve[/QUOTE] I don't know, it's a fucked up situation, because if he was anything other than a community manager, he would probably still be working there. I still think the best course of action would be for Turtle Rock to officially state that they don't support his opinions and move on. The amount of people who are stupid enough to take the opinion of one guy as opinion of a company are pretty high sure, but the amount of people stupid enough to take the opinion of one guy as the opinion of a company even when they say it's not their opinion can't hurt sales that much, no?

An opinion that raises a bit of controversy but it's a pretty tame reason to get fired. I totally understand what he's saying, and getting fired for it kind of reinforces his argument I guess.

It's funny how one shitstorm evolves into another for absolutely no reason.

Well the thing is that whatever he says, especially as a community manager, will be brought back to the image of Turtle Rock. When you're a representative of a company, especially in its relations with the community at large, it's only common sense that you don't say or post something that would obviously be controversial.

[QUOTE=redBadger;44700573]Companies don't like bad PR. This community manager stating his opinions could hurt the sales of Evolve[/QUOTE] Why? Because the game supports racism? I don't remember it supporting racism. This will have zero effect on the game sales. Who in their right mind would not buy this game if Turtle Rock didn't fire him. He didn't say anything about Turtle Rock supporting Sterling therefore it is automatic to assume they don't from a moral position. And anything to the contrary is bullshit. The situation between his lawyer and Turtle Rocks lawyer(s) will continue to [i]evolve[/i].

this is kinda like that time that one reporter for polaris got fired for reporting about that pathetic gamejam thing. except he actually is unsavoury this time.

[QUOTE=Aide;44700643]Why? Because the game supports racism? I don't remember it supporting racism. This will have zero effect on the game sales. Who in their right mind would not buy this game if Turtle Rock didn't fire him. He didn't say anything about Turtle Rock supporting Sterling therefore it is automatic to assume they don't from a moral position. And anything to the contrary is bullshit. The situation between his lawyer and Turtle Rocks lawyer(s) will continue to [i]evolve[/i].[/QUOTE]They still don't want to be seen as even remotely condoning of the notion though. He is their community manager, he represents the company amongst its community and as such is subject to a much higher level of scrutiny. [editline]1st May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=lintz;44700679]this is kinda like that time that one reporter for polaris got fired for reporting about that pathetic gamejam thing. except he actually is unsavoury this time.[/QUOTE]Don't recall him getting fired. In fact, I remember it being stated afterwards by him that nothing had changed.

So the guy, in response to a very public "spat" over Sterling, decides to make public his own opinions then gets surprised when there's a similar outcome? Sure, he might not be a racist, but he should have thought about how it'd look to defend the guy for being racist before he made his posts.

[QUOTE=lintz;44700679]this is kinda like that time that one reporter for polaris got fired for reporting about that pathetic gamejam thing. except he actually is unsavoury this time.[/QUOTE] I believe he wasn't fired, or he was fired and immediately rehired.

Turtle Rock has every right to fire his ass. The community manager's sole job is to make the company look good and he failed miserably. Have you ever seen coca cola or mcdonalds take a stance or comment on anything? [editline]1st May 2014[/editline] A spokesperson/community manager is someone who's elected to speak and interact on behalf of the company. He/she should never make personal statements, specially unpopular ones, because they can be interpreted as company's own.

[QUOTE=redBadger;44700573]Companies don't like bad PR. This community manager stating his opinions could hurt the sales of Evolve[/QUOTE] Don't worry. There was never any danger of anyone buying Evolve.

Turtle Rock wants a worker folks, not a person capable of thought.

The first tweet is neutral and conciliatory but the second one calling Sterling a victim clearly goes over the line. Where I work, the day you get hired a manager gives you a form letting you know what you can and can't say on social media and letting you know that your presence there can impact the company and your employment. This goes for every employee that gets hired, and we work in retail. I find it hard to believe a tech company like Turtle Rock wouldn't have a similar policy, and especially as the community manager he should have been more tactful. Losing your job over a few lines of text on the internet seems harsh but this is the world we live in now. [editline]2nd May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=T-Sonar.0;44700566]Because he has the right to share and vocalize his opinions? Honestly, fuck Turtle Rock. You don't fire someone for having an opinion especially when he's not even being aggressive about it. Olin should sue.[/QUOTE] He wasn't fired for having an opinion. He was fired for expressing his opinion on Twitter as the community representative for a company.

[QUOTE=T-Sonar.0;44700566]Because he has the right to share and vocalize his opinions? Honestly, fuck Turtle Rock. You don't fire someone for having an opinion especially when he's not even being aggressive about it. Olin should sue.[/QUOTE] He has the right to share his opinions and Turtle Rock has the right to fire him for potentially damaging the reputation of the company.

That's hilarious, he's being removed for the exact same reason Sterling is. Guess you could call that a backfire.

[QUOTE=sam6420;44701387]He did nothing wrong, his opinion doesn't even defend what the guy says, just defends his right to say it. Unamerican, Turtlerock. And let's be honest, being raised in that era SURELY affected his mentality, combine it with money and you've got an old rich racist.[/QUOTE] he literally calls sterling a victim in the tweet.

[QUOTE=JoelDJr;44701212]Turtle Rock wants a worker folks, not a person capable of thought.[/QUOTE] Its not like he's just a lowly factory worker being fired for expressing a left wing opinion. He's the representative of a company.

[QUOTE=BeardyDuck;44701584]he literally calls sterling a victim in the tweet.[/QUOTE] You can help being racist as much as you can control race itself

I don't see anything too unusual about it. A lot of companies/organizations will hold you to contracts that you can be accountable to actions over social media due to your representation of the organization. I had one when I was just a lowly intern. A community manager being fired for it is not a big surprise at all to me.

So a guy is getting fired for expressing views that the rest of us look down on... about a guy who's getting fired for expressing views that the rest of us look down on. Heh.

Damn this country really is losing its mind. This guy was a little racist in private, gets shamed by the media, the president, fined, forced to sell his team, banned from all NBA games. Then this guy says Hey look, he said it in the comfort of his own home in a country that allows anyone to have a bigoted opinion, maybe this is a bit unfair and extreme, and now He's fired too. Just wow. Sounds like oppression has jumped races. The reaction to all of this has just been absolutely and completely disproportionate to what happened, so much so that Sterling has become a victim. But he has so much money, it's not a big deal to him. I bet he shrugged it off because he can. But what about some poor guy who lives to paycheck to paycheck? Perhaps a guy like this community manager. If he says something people don't like in the privacy of his own house, is it right to castrate the guy if people find out about it?

[QUOTE=TheTalon;44702109]Damn this country really is losing its mind. This guy was a little racist in private, gets shamed by the media, the president, fined, forced to sell his team, banned from all NBA games. Then this guy says Hey look, he said it in the comfort of his own home in a country that allows anyone to have a bigoted opinion, maybe this is a bit unfair and extreme, and now He's fired too. Just wow. Sounds like oppression has jumped races[/QUOTE] When was firing people for being racist or for defending racists "oppression". Racism is what caused and continues to cause oppression. He defended a racist while acting as the representative of a company. It's not oppression to say "Hey we don't want to be associated with guys who defend that kind of speech", it's not any breach of rights, it's a company firing a guy because they don't want him representing them anymore for a simple reason. I don't get this almost trend of defending bigots. Isn't this what people want, stupid people with dated views getting shown their racism or homophobia or whatever isn't acceptable anymore?

[QUOTE=Starlight 456;44702123]When was firing people for being racist or for defending racists "oppression". Racism is what caused and continues to cause oppression. He defended a racist while acting as the representative of a company. It's not oppression to say "Hey we don't want to be associated with guys who defend that kind of speech", it's not any breach of rights, it's a company firing a guy because they don't want him representing them anymore for a simple reason.[/QUOTE] He made a racist comment in his own home. If you're telling me that's worth Banning him from the NBA, Fining him a ludicrous amount of money, publicly shaming him on national television for days, including the President of the United States commenting on it isn't disproportionate and oppressive then you're nuts. It is. I say some pretty bigoted things in my own house. Would it be right to be secretly recorded, then have that released to the public, and I lose my job or 30 year career over it? No, it wouldn't. And anyone that wants to say it is can get fucked, honestly

Is this the same Turtle Rock that assisted working on CS:S?

[QUOTE=Kinversulath;44702071]So a guy is getting fired for expressing views that the rest of us look down on... about a guy who's getting fired for expressing views that the rest of us look down on. Heh.[/QUOTE] But he didn't though. He didn't defend the guy's views at all, and in fact even said he doesn't even agree with them. He stuck up for the guy because it was an invasion of privacy.