Bobby Kotick says he would ‘consider’ stepping down from Activision Blizzard
There are a lot of things going down at Activision Blizzard and the ‘star’ of this particular brown-stained show is none other than CEO Bobby Kotick.
Kotick has reportedly told senior managers within Activision Blizzard on Friday, November 19th, via The Wall Street Journal, that he would consider stepping down from his role if he could not fix harassment and discrimination within the company “with speed.”
This news comes off allegations made last week, where it was revealed that Kotick, who only a few weeks ago had highlighted there would be major changes coming to Activision Blizzard in a blog post, didn’t only know about the sexual harassment and rampant discrimination that plagued his company but also took part in it himself.
These allegations, originally reported on by The Wall Street Journal, detailed instances of Kotick harassing women via threatening to kill them, as well as “unwanted touching, demeaning comments, exclusion from important meetings, and unsolicited comments on their appearance.”
Despite such damning allegations against Kotick, Activision Blizzard leadership quickly doubled down in defence of the CEO. The board of directors reiterated in a press release that they were not only “confident” that “Bobby Kotick appropriately addressed workplace issues brought to his attention”, but were reassured that Kotick’s leadership and commitment would lead to a much healthier Activision Blizzard.
ABK Workers Alliance disagreed with that sentiment and staged a walkout – as well as a document with over 1500+ signatures – to call for Bobby Kotick’s resignation.
Fast forward and we now know that reportedly Kotick is considering stepping down from leadership, with NME reporting that Kotick has said to be “ashamed” at how he has responded to issues within Activision Blizzard.
Regardless of whether Kotick resigns or not, the board of directors that defended Kotick would still be there. As far as we’re concerned, it may be best to just throw the whole lot out and let the workers of Activision Blizzard take charge.
Just a thought.
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