The CEO and co-founder of esports organization Method, Sascha Steffens, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave by the organization following allegations of misconduct released earlier this week.
A pair of women, Swebliss and AnnieFuchsia on Twitter, spoke up about separate incidents dating back to around BlizzCon 2015, alleging Steffens made unwanted sexual advances toward them.
The accusations have come amid a wave of similar allegations from women in esports in recent weeks in what has become the industry’s “#MeToo” moment—three years after the original movement shook the entertainment industry.
In response to Annie’s account, Steffens released a statement of his own explaining his side of the situation but also apologizing to Annie.
Swebliss responded to Annie’s statement with an accusation of unwarranted sexual advances of her own at the same time period. Steffens responded by saying that he “vehemently” denies the claims.
In response to the first accusation, Method did not respond, but Steffens’ co-CEO and founder Scott “Sco” McMillan replied on Twitter condemning his colleague’s actions.
Shortly after Swebliss’ second accusation, however, the organization announced that it was putting Steffens on unpaid administrative leave pending a third-party investigation.
“Following allegations of misconduct, Co-CEO Sascha Steffens has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending the results of a third-party investigation,” the organization posted.
This news comes shortly after the team parted ways with one of its raiding guild healers MethodJosh. Josh was accused by a teenage girl of soliciting inappropriate photos, among other forms of sexual misconduct.
