Former Naughty Dog Employee Says He Was Sexually Harassed

PSLS: "Former Naughty Dog Environment Artist and Multiplayer Level Layout Artist David Ballard has come forward with allegations of sexual harassment. Ballard says that the incident occurred in late 2015, and that his working environment became increasingly toxic due to the harasser being a lead. According to Ballard, when he went to the Sony PlayStation human resources department in February 2016 (after suffering from a mental breakdown), he was fired the next day. Ballard says he was then offered $20,000 to stay quiet about the ordeal, but he declined the offer."

[AspiringProGenji]

It is pretty rare to hear a man saying he is/was being sexually harassed lol, but anyways that is just horrible! He should have sued

[UCForce]

Yes, it does. Next week, he will have list of them.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

A Very disgusting act that should have been resolved on the spot. Sexual assault, time to get the cops involved and file the appropriate charges and let justice be served. If guilty, then serve the time.

Sexual assault is soooo common still, and it happens to both sexes although not at the same rate. From men forcing themselves onto women/men, stealthing, etc, to women tricking men into getting them pregnant and getting them on the hook for child support or to prevent them from leaving a relationship.

I think it's about time that we get to the bottom of this as a society. I am now watching Sony very closely to see how they handle this situation.

[Eonjay]

Okay so while I agree, its always hard to prove so its hard for us to say that someone should be fired because they are accused. The problem is that if this happened once, it probably happened again and thats where we go after HR if they ignored it. There is this huge problem where powerful people can do crap like this and get away from it when there are people in power who can stop it.

[ElementX]

@Cupid, there's a difference between sexual harassment and sexual assault. This wasn't assault.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@ElementX

You sir, are correct. And I stand corrected.

There is no place in our society for sexual harassment or assault.

I don't have the tolerance for either of them.

[psyxon]

There's a difference between sexual assault and sexual harassment. This article/story has nothing to do with the former. Anyway, why is he just coming forward now? Is this the new trend, because the famous celebs are doing it? Not trying to be a dick, but it's nearly impossible to prove the validity of the claim, so at this point it's basically he said, (s)he said Hopefully it works out for him, though. Too many people act like sexual harassment is something men don't also have to deal with.

[morganfell]

Yeah let's burn Naughty Dog at the stake...why wait for evidence?

What Ballard states may very well be true, but I do not think we should be frying people in oil until there is some proof.

Has no one heard of the Duke Lacrosse Case? Based on just an accusation, the DA Mike Nifong was on TV in short order promising to boil the suspects alive. The justice system along with the court of public opinion proceeded to ruin the lives of 3 college students and trash the entire lacrosse team. They were pracitcally convicted the day they were arrested. Even though all of it was later proved to be a lie, the DA was removed from office, and monetary compensation was awarded, time isn't something one can simply return. Some opportunities passed the accused forever.

As I said, Ballard's accusations may prove to be 100% accurate. After all, no one has ever falsely accused a former employer of wrongdoing, right? No one ever attempted to capitalize on current affairs. But whether his remarks are true or not is immaterial. Due process is the right of every person associated with the charges.

[strifeblade]

wow, sony offering 20k to keep quiet, and we champion sony as the saviour of gaming when they are complicent for sexual harassment. Thats disgusting

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@ morganfell

There is a lot of wisdom in your words and as you cited there have been plenty of cases of people being falsely accused of horrible acts and in turn have had their lives/careers ruined.

So just to be clear, I'm not advocating that anyone jump to conclusions before getting all the facts. What I am advocating though is that we all be more aware of these acts and not turn a blind eye to them if/when we confront them in our lives. As a society, we shouldn't be burning anyone at the stake without the factual evidence of wrongdoing. At the same time, it is equally important that we allow the people who've been victimized, a safe place to report these acts.

The current state of affairs creates an environment where this is what we get as a result. Either people are presuming that the accused is guilty before all the fact, because they feel that otherwise nothing will be done about it. And the pushback to that is that people will judge the accuser a liar because they think they're in it because it is what is trendy right now, or to get back at a company/someone for something in the past. So both sides tend to get overzealous and overprotective. And pretty soon the whole situation becomes and 'us vs them' type of thing.

I really do believe that a big reason why we so often have these outcomes is because we haven't really HONESTLY discussed the topic. it's 2017 and you'd be surprised at how prevalent sexual harassment/assault is, and at the percentage of people who think that women are the only victims. If we (as a people) can't even get the basic nature of the issue hand, then we (as a people) haven't really discussed it enough.

[InactiveUser]

Everyone jumping to conclusions, already know who's guilty and innocent, who's telling the truth or making up stories, dumb.

[InMyOpinion]

Maybe it was his own fault for dressing like a slut?

[morganfell]

@Cupid,

You referred to the matter as a disgusting act. That is stating it occurred. Instead it is a matter that should have been investigated and resolved properly one way or the other. And I mean properly. Often times if something does indeed occur, certain persons want to blame the employer and the atmosphere (that's where the money is after all) and sometimes this is the case. Businesses can create a situation where such harmful and offensive acts may not necessarily be condoned but are certainly overlooked.

But often times you just have the issue of a lone individual acting out within an otherwise healthy work environment. Or no one did anything at all and it is simply a case of a fired employee seeking retribution at any cost. One of the remarks people have made about ND is the situation there and what a wonderful place it is to work. The lone exception is the publicized disagreement between Amy Hennig and the Druckmann and that was simply a matter of a creative and directional disagreement where someone did not get what they want and left. And it turns out in the opinion of most gamers that it was good for the Uncharted story line Hennig did not get her way.

You also said you are watching Sony closely to see how they handle this. Those are the words of someone that feels Sony needs to step in and make amends, make things right because you have decided their is guilt on the part of Sony and Naughty Dog.

Perhaps in retrospect you realize that you jumped the gun. That is great. But that initial post clearly, in your words, has ND and Sony responsible for some wrong doing.

[SoulMikeY]

Cupid, this isn’t sony’s Problem or responsibility. This new mentality of people that have nothing to do with it getting involved is long overdue to be done. This is strictly and solely on ND to handle. They, just like Bungie/ Microsoft in the past, are a partner to Sony, not owned.

[morganfell]

"wow, sony offering 20k to keep quiet, and we champion sony as the saviour of gaming when they are complicent for sexual harassment. Thats disgusting"

Wow, convicting the accused with absolutely zero evidence when we live in a society of innocent until proven guilt. Glad you are not in charge of the Justice System. That's disgusting.

[-Foxtrot]

Maybe I'm being blind but does it say who it was by?

Man or woman

Kind of funny how Neil toots his horn about sexism and the like but completely "missed" this situation, a serious issue towards his own gender.

[Stevonidas]

Does it matter?

[UCForce]

We will find out soon enough.

[psyxon]

Assuming this guy is telling the truth, yeah, I guess.

[VideoGamesAreDumb]

"a serious issue towards his own gender"

Hi there. Serious question, do you have a soul?

[NG12345]

Exactly! Neil is probably the culprit himself, used his authority to take advantage of him.

[lelo2play]

Shame on ND and Sony.

[bluefox755]

I'm sure it happens far more than is reported. I imagine most guys are afraid they won't be taken seriously if they come out with it.

[Kribwalker]

wow, classy guys. deflecting and making jokes about someone that has a mental breakdown and becomes unemployed for over a year and a half because they were a victim.....stay classy guys

[AspiringProGenji]

> Classy
> Internet

Pick one!

[filius]

You must not be good looking and very cynical to say that and then have the audacity to laugh about it.

[AspiringProGenji]

Just like rarely anyone would take a man getting harassed seriously, but yeah I'm ugly and cynical. Thanks Society! Btw if Sony and ND didn't work this out and the guy got fired the that was horrible on their part like I said. Now what the guy said may have two sides like any argument, so I just leave it to him to do something about it. However after two years he hasn't done something or sued Sony or ND then I don't know...

[Cyro]

How is that funny?

[AspiringProGenji]

It is not funny but that is how men harassment is taken most of the times. Like I said, he should sue, but if in two years he hasn’t done anything then it may be too late

[Xenophon_York]

AspiringProGenji—

As someone who has suffered from the mental stresses of the work place and sexual harassment I find it insulting to read your comment with an "lol," because it is a mortifying experience. If it happened to you I thoroughly doubt you'd laugh about it in any regard.

While you may not have meant anything by it you should wholeheartedly think before you comment about delicate issues such as these.

Such a shame to read about this happening at Naughty Dog.

[AspiringProGenji]

My sincere apologies for the “lol” part. like you said, that wasn’t needed. It is just something that rarely happens or gets exposed but like I said it is still horrible and something should have been done about it already

[Mr-Dude]

If these allegations are true, its terrible business practice to sweep it under the rug and attempt to silence the victim. However if these are unfounded, the ex-dev may have landed himself in very very hot water. I would hope that he has evidence to bring to a court, if either party decides to do so, because openly naming companies can lead to slander.
Since no official comments have been made nor surface of evidence, we should not blame anyone for anything.

[Ceaser9857361]

Don't know what to make of this because sexual harassment laws are the most misused on planet Earth.
But it is still a very serious crime that does happen a lot.
Hope ND take action against the harasser if it is proven true.
This will affect their games if courts are involved.

[pinkcrocodile75]

did you put a "lol" in reference to male sexual harassment?

That's like putting a "rofl" in reference to people leaping to their deaths when the twin towers came down.

Not funny.

[Mr-Dude]

Naught Dog has released a statement

"We have recently read on social media that an ex-employee of Naughty Dog, Dave Ballard, claims he was sexually harassed when he worked at Naughty Dog. We have not found any evidence of having received allegations from Mr. Ballard that he was harassed in any way at Naughty Dog or Sony Interactive Entertainment. Harassment and inappropriate conduct have no place at Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment. We have taken and always will take reports of sexual harassment and other workplace grievances very seriously. We value every single person who works at Naughty Dog and Sony interactive Entertainment. It is of utmost importance to us that we maintain a safe, productive workplace environment that allows us all to channel our shared passion for making games."

https://www.naughtydog.com/...

[Ashunderfire86]

Terry Cruz was gropped In front of his wife by an executive! So it is not that rare to hear a man complain of being sexually harassed.

[DillyDilly]

Terry Crews was a victim in Hollywood

[subtenko]

so how is that funny then (lol)?

[lxeasy]

I am very disappointed in Sony for try to silence him

[UCForce]

"Sigh" This issues really need to address from ND and Sony. Jesus Christ ! This make me angry.

[Gazondaily]

Disgraceful of Sony and ND

[Razzer]

lol....what? So you are just buying every word of this? This guy is telling 100% truth and ND and Sony are just "disgraceful". Let's not consider the possibility that this is just a disgruntled fired employee.....nah.

[andrewsquall]

@Razzer Well what the hell did you expect from Septic lol? If this was about Sony charging a lot for an expansion/ DLC but refusing to do loot boxes he would say the exact same thing.

[Gazondaily]

Disgraceful of Sony and ND *If true*

Y'all happy now?

[freshslicepizza]

When can we expect a response from Sony and/or Naughty Dog?

[Razzer]

"We have recently read on social media that an ex-employee of Naughty Dog, Dave Ballard, claims he was sexually harassed when he worked at Naughty Dog. We have not found any evidence of having received allegations from Mr. Ballard that he was harassed in any way at Naughty Dog or Sony Interactive Entertainment. Harassment and inappropriate conduct have no place at Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment. We have taken and always will take reports of sexual harassment and other workplace grievances very seriously. We value every single person who works at Naughty Dog and Sony interactive Entertainment. It is of utmost importance to us that we maintain a safe, productive workplace environment that allows us all to channel our shared passion for making games."

https://www.naughtydog.com/...

[StifflerK]

Just been reading about this on twitter - it's bad enough he was harassed , but what HR did was just as bad.

I hope he gets his career back on track, also I hope the harasser + the person who handled the case at HR gets what's coming to them.

[rainslacker]

If he was actually fired for reporting the harassment, then very likely the person in HR didn't make that call. I agree that if that's the case that everyone who made that decision should be disciplined appropriately, up to and including studio leads and execs.

However, the fact that Sony HR had to get involved, seemingly due to the breakdown, means that the reasons for letting him go may be more on him for doing something he shouldn't have which would cause an uncomfortable situation at the dev....which wouldn't be unheard of in a breakdown situation. There is nothing in the quote which indicates that Sony HR or ND knew anything about the harassment before the breakdown, and it seems his assumption is that them letting him go is due to him bringing the accusation, when it's possible that it was due to some inappropriate outburst due to the breakdown.

[pinkcrocodile75]

You should work for Fox News. You're unscrupulous,, willing to muddy the waters with no evidence what so ever and even manipulate the fact to suggest it's the victims fault.

It's like telling the public that it's a women's own fault that she was raped while insisting she MUST NEVER abort the baby because it's unchristian.

Simple this to take from you comment,

A. You're full of sh1t.
B. Wait until this goes to court and the facts come out.
C. Calm down the give the victim all the public support we can.

[Xenophon_York]

Rainslacker—

Willing to guarantee you hit the nail on the head. Every sexual harassment scenario I've witnessed usually gets wrapped up in something else. This helps the company have at least one other issue to shamelessly shift attention. Anything to discredit such a negative media event as sexual harassment—especially with these big corporations.

[guywazeldatatt]

HR's job, literally, is to protect the company. They do not care about employees. What HR did is despicable but that's what HR does all the time. Literally HR did its job, which makes it all the more depressing.

[KTF26]

if it's true
then what HR did wasn't as bad it was worst

[RommyReigns]

HR are scum (not just the Sony HR team in this case, HR in general).

[Miss_Weeboo]

It's horrible. If they offered him money is even worse. I hope you have something to say about all this Naughty/Sony. Do something about it or even deny it (and then prove it), but you can't just ignore this.

[Black0ut]

If they did indeed offer him 20k to be silenced then thats just as criminal as the assault.

Disgusting if true.

[deadfrag]

This is very bad if is actually true.Sony HR fail badly and should be accounted,same goes for ND management leaders.

[DJustinUNCHAIND]

If this is true, it's despicable behavior, regardless of the victim or the harrasser's sex.

If the bit about the hush money from Sony HR is true, the floodgates are going to open industry-wide for legal action.

[Stevonidas]

Name names or STFU.

[psyxon]

This.

[AmstradAmiga]

I dare say if we all used a little less anonymity a lot less would belove said.

[AnubisG]

Before we jump to conclusions, I would like to know some details about this. What happened exactly? Was someone making an unwanted advance or just someone joking around? Or perhaps someone was actually doing something bad?

I'm not saying that this person is lying but keep in mind that some people cry sexual harrasment if you look at them in a way they don't like it.

Sexual harresment needs to stop, period. No one should be harrased sexually. But we need to very specifically clarify what is sexual harresment because now, it looks like people say they were harrased and it turns out that it isn't true. Remember mattress girl?

[psyxon]

Shame on you for wanting more information instead of demonizing someone who may be completely innocent. You're despicable. /s

[rainslacker]

Companies define sexual harassment as any unwanted attention of a sexual nature, whether implied or explicit. That is generally how the courts define it as well.

There really is no legal "level" of sexual harassment which is considered worse than any other, however, in the real world, any case is usually looked at at exactly what happened, and the "nature" of the harassment itself.

The biggest problem in the sexual harassment issue is not in it's definition, since most company are pretty broad and all encompassing, it's that people may have different views from the company on the severity of the harassment being done, as well as if the action taken against the accused is enough to remedy the situation.

This is a big reason why a lot of sexual harassment claims or cases are dismissed because people think others are being overly sensitive about how things happened.

[AnubisG]

But that's the thing. They use a blanket and broad definition. So if I look at a beautiful woman and smile and wink, is that sexual harassment? She could take it that way. So than what's next?

I think we need to know the details on what happened here. Was he touched in inappropriate places? Or what happened? Again, I'm not saying he is lying but it is very important to know what exactly happened to see if it is truly sexual harrasment or it was just an unwanted advance from someone. Some people are truly way to sensitive and just like you said, it is why most cases are dismissed because they aren't sexual harassment yet the accuser took it as it was.

[Cobra951]

So, if you like a woman you work with, you ask her out, and she doesn't like it, you've sexually harassed her? See, a broad definition like that has no place as the basis of such a serious charge. That's my problem with a nondescript "sexual harassment" charge such as the one here. What happened, exactly? Until I know, I can't judge anyone involved.

[InTheZoneAC]

mattress girl claims she was assaulted, harassment is not physical...

[AnubisG]

Right, but the point remains that just because someone accuses you with something, it doesn't mean it's true. It needs to be investigated.

[WelkinCole]

It apparently happens everywhere and not just to women. Even at the best of places it can happen.

No question this should be made right.

[filius]

Disgusting behavior from ND and Sony. The victims (since there was also a female employee harassed) should sue Sony.

[BlakHavoc]

ND employs 300+ ppl, it’s likely they told the man and woman to take their cases to Sony HR since they work for Sony. In which he was told to keep quiet, we can safely say that was a shitty move on Sony’s part, but it’s dumb to also blame ND. I’m sure nearly all companies that deal with Sexual Harrasment cases didn’t kno they were hiring someone like that.

[Kribwalker]

when the harrasment accusation is against a project lead, then they would know about it, don’t fool yourself

[BlakHavoc]

@Kribwalker

Try to actually comprehend what I was saying next time, I didn’t say they didn’t know who did it after the incident, I said they likely didn’t know they were hiring someone capable of sexual harassment. Meaning it’s dumb to blame the company when it can happen to anyone, I blame HR since ND likely told the victims to contact HR since they deal with that kinda stuff.

[Christopher]

Naughty Dog has its own HR and are their own company. There would be no good going to Sony as this is out of their purview legally and they prefer that.

[BlakHavoc]

Are u certain ND has its own HR? It’s a studio owned by Sony, so I don’t understand why he’d go to Sony if the studio he worked for has their own. Plus there was no mention from his statement of going to ND HR. My guess is since ND is a FPS, he was told to contact HR and they would help.

[rainslacker]

Harassment happens regardless of the size of the company. The issue of if it's something that can be sued for requires that there be an endemic culture within the company that somehow supports an environment where it becomes acceptable, or if their policies which handle claims is sufficient enough in the eyes of the court, and moreso that they are followed.

I'd be more surprised if a company with a large number of employees had no cases of sexual harassment, as cases are usually from an individual within the company, and don't stem from corporate culture of encouragement. In fact, almost every major company has a no tolerance policy towards it.

@Krib

You assume that an accusation was made towards the harasser, whereas the quote can be taken that Sony didn't get involved until the break down....which is where he stated he made the harassment known.

If that's the case, if the management at ND or Sony weren't aware of the harassment, then what were they going to do about it. Obvious harassment, in my experience at big companies, is handled quickly and efficiently. Usually it just requires a talk with the harasser. But if it's not obvious, then again, in my experience, nothing is done about it.

We don't know the series of events of the harassment, the complaint, or anything that happened after we know that Sony HR got involved to be able to say for sure that anyone other than the harasser did something wrong. For all we know, actual action was taken, but the victim didn't feel it was sufficient. There is nothing stating that Sony never took action, or if he was OK with it...which I'd assume not given that he had a breakdown. There is nothing to say that if action was taken, that it actually stopped the harassment if it was ongoing.

There are tons of details left out here which would be required to make an informed judgement. The worst thing to do in cases like this is to try and cast blame before the details are known, because it completely minimlizes the actual case into petty bickering, and eventually defensive stances which move the focus aware from the topic of sexual harassment, and the individual case where the facts are never known, so people remain ignorant, so nothing changes in the grander scheme of things.

[Kribwalker]

they knew about it after the complaint and then they terminated the accuser. i’m sure if one of the naughty dog employees got fired, they would know why.

[Christopher]

@krib: wife works for a company that is owned by a larger company out of France. The parent company doesn't care who is fired unless it's an executive. I will say if it's presented as a sexual harassment case by HR, though, they would be informed. But it looks like this was not handled as such by ND.

[Kribwalker]

@christopher
i could understand that, but as this accusation was against a senior staff member (a department lead) i am fairly sure naughty dog would be made aware of this after HR got involved. as well, if it became a hostile work place, people would see this inside of naughty dog, where they would work daily with him

[TKCMuzzer]

No offence but as bad is the allegation is everybody is jumping the gun and assuming this and assuming that. Everyone should wait for all evidence to be gathered before we as onlookers can point the fingers at anyone involved.
I imagine there are quite a few people at ND and Sony who are hearing about this for the first time as we are.

[Kiwi66]

Any form of harassment should not be tolerated and the person shouldn't be to be told to stay silent about it
Edit so some people think harassment is acceptable, unbelievable

[AnubisG]

I really don't think anyone thinks that harassment is acceptable. It's not.

[Kiwi66]

I'm referring to the down votes I got for saying it's not acceptable

[AnubisG]

I see....yeah, that is disturbing. I got downvoted too for saying that sexual harassment needs to stop. Strange.

[Prince_TFK]

Its not just about any harassment, its about harassment at SONY’s workplace (aka N4G’s God). So naturally you gonna get downvoted if you say bad about it.

[InTheZoneAC]

just so you people know, there's a difference between wanting more info and actual names than jumping to the conclusion that someone said something sexually harassing to this guy and then sony tried to offer $20k...

How hard is it to understand?

[bluefox755]

Gotta give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but at the same time, innocence of the accused should always be presumed, until evidence of wrongdoing comes out. In other words, save the mudslinging until we know more.

[EatCrow]

Truly tragic. But to be honest im surprised. Obviously I have not experienced such things but if I were I would assume my first reaction after human resources would be to call the police.

But yes definitely tricky when it occurs at work. Probably due to liking the kind of work

[rainslacker]

Harassment isn't a criminal action. Police wouldn't do anything unless it became some kind of stalker case, or an actual assault case.

Assault is another matter, but isn't the same as sexual harassment.

The two things shouldn't be confused because sexual harassment is generally broadly defined as any unwanted sexual attention, which includes an off handed inappropriate content, statements that infer that one's job may be lost without performing inappropriate services, and up to actual sexual assault.

Hopefully you'll never have to experience such a thing, but best thing to do is approach management about it. HR or an immediate supervisor is typically the first place, and most companies allow you to approach who you feel is appropriate, and some even have outside sources you can approach if you don't want to go to anyone at work. If you feel that who you approach didn't do an appropriate job at remedying the situation, you can usually go up the ladder, and eventually they'll handle it. If that handling isn't to your satisfaction, then they'll often explain why they handled it the way they did.

Obviously, there are many scenarios where it may not always be as fluid as I state, but that's the general rule of thumb. If you don't get remedy, you can contact a civil attorney about it. You don't necessarily have to quit unless you feel you have to. The attorney should be able to get remedy, or tell you if the company did what they should have done, and if they didn't, then a potential civil suit could be brought against them.

I would encourage anyone who is being harassed to make a claim, but also realize that what one feels is appropriate disciplinary action may not be the same as a company, and that some harassment actions are more serious than others in corporate culture, and that you have to give the company time to address the situation before assuming nothing is happening. Typically, the larger the company, the longer an outcome will take, and often times, in large companies, the victim may not know the actual actions taken as it can break employee confidentiality agreements.

[Gwiz]

Are we really surprised by a company paying you off to stay quiet?and are we really that naive to think this doesn't happen very often and not just the entertainment industry?.It's classy of him to tun down the insult but there's many out there that would've taken the money.

[jokerisalive]

Oh shit......not Naughty Dog.....and if Sony payed money to cover it up that's really screwed up on top of it.

[BlakHavoc]

Oh boy. Ppl are gonna immediately make this a console war thing but what I see is a poor guy that was left without a job due to something he had no control over. He was brave to come out and put himself out there, but I wouldn’t be so quick to blame ND for this. That’s a studio with over 300 heads under its roof, it’s likely they didn’t know they were hiring a sex offender upon hiring the guy/girl. Their may be a few bad apples in that studio (like any), but I’m sure there’s more good apples there as well. I’m positive they told him and any other victims to contact HR, and let them handle the case. So really Sony HR is in the wrong here, doesn’t matter who the perp was they should have punished him/her. I see ppl calling for ND to be closed down lol, like seriously? Ur gonna put hundreds of ppl out of a job because of a couple sexual harrasment cases? So if someone at ur job was harassed would it be fair if u lost ur job?

[yomfweeee]

Lot of hate towards Sony when no proof or even details have been provided.

[AnubisG]

Don't forget the mob mentallity: Guilty until proven innocent. Even than....maybe they should ruin their lives just to make sure.

Sad state of affairs of today.

[Christopher]

I'm not judging, but I wouldn't be surprised. This happens in every industry at some level.

[lociefer]

They are called "naughty" for a reason. But all joking aside, that HR is a tw*at, and the harasser too

[Silly gameAr]

He's coming out now because of the strength he saw in the TV/film industry? No, if it caused me to have a mental breakdown, I would have said something about it earlier. It doesn't make sense. Horrible though.

[gangsta_red]

"When I told them about the harassment they ended the call and fired me the next day. They cited the company was moving in a different direction and my job was no longer needed."

Damn, that is extremely harsh.

"They tried to silence me by offering $20,000 if I signed a letter agreeing to the termination as well as to not discuss it with anyone. I declined to sign. I have been unemployed for 17 months since. When interviewers ask why I left Naughty Dog, I say I was burned out by the crunch, ashamed to get to the root of the problem of being sexually harassed."

That is very brave to turn down 20 racks after being terminated. It's a shame that this guy was out of work for a year and some change. Such a shame that Sony would even do something like this and not actually investigate what went down. Hopefully this will get sorted out or maybe this is some kind of shakedown for a person being out of work and needing attention.

Regardless hope it gets sorted.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

whats going on in Druckman's ND?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Certainly on the surface not a good look but I'm going to err on the side of caution here. We're only hearing one side of the story. I'm not going to cast judgment before I hear the facts from all angles. What I will say is Sony and naughty dog do need to come forward and address this situation in the public eye. Whether they are right or wrong they need to be very public about correcting the situation if in fact it needs to be corrected.

[rainslacker]

We're highly unlikely to ever hear any other side of the story. It's not in any companies policy to actually discuss such issues, as anything said could be used in court, and if actual harassment happened, and if Sony tried to cover it up, then they could lose a lot of money....even if they win the case, lawyers aren't cheap....although a settlement is more common in these cases, which usually come with an agreement to not make any details public.

This case would have to go to court, for both sides of the case to become public, and an actual judgement would have to be passed down as well. Even if it goes to court, a settlement would hide the transcripts from public record.

If Sony says anything, it'll be some generic PR statement stating they take such things seriously and have policies in place to take appropriate action, and maybe they are looking more into it. They'll address the knee jerk reaction until people forget about it like they always do. As it stands, people will forget about this anyways, and it's likely it won't make the rounds in the media for very long regardless.

If the guy is lying, or exaggerating, then they'll throw him under the bus. It would take a sustained media attention for them to ever make a public statement of any worth though.

All that being said, you're better than some on this thread to at least wait for more details, or try to reason things out a bit more before casting blame and shame. I see people calling out specific individuals within the company/s and that is just wrong, as that is a pretty serious allegation to just lob at someone so casually.

[Elda]

That's f'd up & they tried to give him hush money,he should sue. If true I see why they're called Naughty Dog...lol. Though they reign supreme in the video game dept.

[Liqu1d]

Serious allegation. Sony & ND better respond asap, they have some serious explaining to do. The people who think it's a laughing matter & are using it as an opportunity to troll should be ashamed of themselves, you're the reason people stay quite.

[Tankbusta40]

The problem is its a "he said" "she said" situation because the guy did not report it prior to "having a mental breakdown."

Unless he recorded it happening, it will be very difficult to prove since it wasn't documented in the proper channels. It would take someone coming forward and testifying on this guys behalf(Or others who have been harassed by the same individual)

[Christopher]

They won't respond to anything until their lawyers tell them to say something.

[rainslacker]

Sony doesn't have to explain anything to us. We're not the victims.

Sony is unlikely to say anything about it, because anything they say could be used in court against them.

Sony may say something if the media attention surrounding it becomes big enough. however, this will blow over like every other serious matter that people have knee jerk reactions over.

[TKCMuzzer]

It would be difficult to respond to the case in question. If there is no evidence of a complaint being made (there would be a paper trail if a complaint was submitted as the company would have to respond by letter) then its tricky to offer an answer. There are other issues as well, the harasser may no longer work there, the HR person is question may also have moved on which makes it all very tricky, especially with out a paper trail. They can do the usual PR but as for the allegation in case basis, they would not comment.
The reason people stay quiet would be down to the environment the individual works in and not feeling confident in his/her other managers to make a complaint.

[mafiahajeri]

This needs to be adressed asap itll look bad if they stay quiet. This could single handedly tarnish NDs image, over the actions of one person

[guywazeldatatt]

Well what's sad is that it may not be just the actions of one person; it could be the culture of management. I've met some ND employees and they were super cool. But that's besides the point. Look at Fox News for example and the culture there that cultivated an environment of sexual harassment. No proof that's the case at ND, and I pray it's not, but the fact that HR went after the employee and not this one supervisor, that looks really bad. this possibly has happened before. We just don't know. I hate posting about this because it's like gossiping, but we don't know, but I hope this man gets the compensation he's entitled to for both monetary and emotional damages.

[uth11]

Is there proof? All I see so far is a twitter accusation without anyone even named

[guywazeldatatt]

It happens way more often than you'd think and honestly I think that while this is a valid question, it's not a question for us to answer, but for lawyers to ultimately sort out because there will be some kind of lawsuit.

[uth11]

Well yeah, he should have contacted a lawyer in the first place, not social media

[guywazeldatatt]

=

[guywazeldatatt]

This is important stuff that needs to be covered, but is N4G really the place for it?

[Christopher]

As it involves an industry entity and former employee, we felt it related enough as industry news. We won't be allowing opinion pieces or the like on the subject, just the news.

[guywazeldatatt]

Okay. I wasn't being critical or anything, I was just genuinely curious. I'm glad it's bringing awareness, but kind of vile to see the trolls out in full force. :\

[paulogy]

What an awful thing to have occurred.

"They tried to silence me by offering $20,000 if I signed a letter agreeing to the termination as well as to not discuss it with anyone. 4/"

The way this is presented makes the termination offer sound very fishy, but this could be a fairly typical severance agreement with $20k / X% consideration. Most people would never intend to make a claim and prefer to have the severance, but in this case it seems that was declined knowing there was more of a story to tell.

[guywazeldatatt]

I've never experienced this in the industry, but from the people I know who I've talked to, it is not uncommon at all. Which is sick. Attention needs to be brought to the subject on the whole. Those looking outside the industry as fans may be surprised, but hearing how this went down doesn't surprise me. Sony HR's response doesn't surprise me because Human Resources job is to basically protect the employer and screw the employee. It was smart of him not to accept the money or sign any agreement. What a sad, sad, sad world we live in, honestly. And the worst part is, I know of stories that make this one seem not so bad. I hate that I do. I hope that the guy can still sue and manage to get his career back together. I could only imagine what he went through emotionally. Meaning I can't really imagine, only that it is utterly terrifying.

[blacktiger]

These days everyone have been sexually harassed. So sad.

[Ogygian]

Ah, wonderful. I see the internet jury is out in full force today to proclaim guilt. We don't need to observe the difference between harassment and assault, and as we all know, the more adjectives you use, the more righteous your resolve.

[DJ]

That means Sony must have a pre-written NDA for multiple cases, probably stemming from Naughty Dog. Only a few company leads would have enough power to fire a sexual harassment victim and have their parent company sweep it under the rug...

[XStation4pio_Pro]

that sucks, but $20k ain't shit, especially for that - especially for the salary these guys make already. Even my wife got more than a year of salary for her legal/boss problem and she makes 6 figures a year. That dude could have gotten way more. Even better though if shit like this just didn't happen. Toxic work environment scenarios have plagued this household so we have experienced it firsthand and it sucks on pretty much a lot of levels.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Let's see

[DarkZane]

Should have taken the $20000 and talked about it anyway. Nothing they could have done to keep him quiet after that. He would have been 20 grands richer and would have been able to sue them as well for more money.

[theshredded]

I knew Naughty Dog devs looked like sick people the moment I saw their tired hollow eyes. And all corporate companies are f*kin cruel, yes even our beloved PlayStation. You'll be surprised by the atrocities that happen behind the scenes.

[theshredded]

Game development is really stressful and for this to happen is hust horrible. F*k Naughty Dog and the shotcaller at Sony, the lead guys of nd really do look like sociopaths tbh.

[Cy]

Wonder who the harasser was? Either way, he's a man accusing either a woman or a gay man, so I won't be surprised to see the media dismiss him and/or attack him.

[sonic989]

Failure in society,failure in ethics,failure in responsibility.
I believe that might sum up the times we live at nowadays, total disgrace.

[Dirty_Lemons]

Sexual harassment of a man is often, unfairly, dismissed as trivial in comparison to sexual harassment of a woman, and subsequently it must take great courage for said man to come forth and stake these claims. This is, of course, just my opinion and I mean no offence by it, but I say well done, sir, for speaking out. Hopefully more men and women will in the future. Sad to hear of this from any game company, yet alone Naughty Dog.

[Scar-]

Speaking from personal experience it's mostly dismissed and in my case with it being older women I even got resent and jealousy for coming forward. It's weird how american society has these massive double standards, whats straight up illegal for men is possibly legal for women and even if it isn't they get significantly lighter sentences.

[goldwyncq]

"Naughty" Dog indeed

[Kocurstvo]

He should be glad someone liked him. In few years nobody will care.

[NG12345]

People always assuming that a man can't be sexually harassed, that's wrong, cuz remember, not everybody is gay or into that kind of bromance stuffs. Some men, just don't want to be grabbed by another man!
Best wishes to him.

[Mr Marvel]

LMAO... HE?!?
Dude, just grow a pair and move on princess.

[loadstone007]

Sounds like a really bad experience. He should sue.

[AnubisG]

IF he is telling the truth and it was in fact sexual harassment. In a court of law, you have to have proof and you also have to name the person you accused.

Remember matress girl.

[solid_snake3656]

I guess someone was acting like a naughty dog ; )

[Mithan]

He is a man. Nobody cares in today's society.

[FreakyFox]

Here is a tip, dont wear pink watches to work guys , if you dont want to send the wrong message to the gay lead.

[Sm00thNinja]

What an immature comment

[andrewsquall]

This is sick. Best to hear ND/Sony's side of the story first though.

[Onenyte]

I knew someone who was accused of Sexual Assault, lost his job, family and fell into depression from the whole ordeal, through appealing his case and a strong workers union , he was found innocent.

People STILL believe he done it and had trouble seeing his kids

Just think about both sides..

Just sayin

[pinkcrocodile75]

Pressing criminal charges against the lead and making it public should have been the first port of call.

HOWEVER, you'd be surprised how common male sexual harassment by women to subordinate males is.

It's just reported far less.

Naughty management should be fired and so should the human recourse dept at Sony.

Disgusting!!!

[PizzaSteve]

So he got fired and then offered $20K to shut up about it. Isn't this a wrongful termination and he could sue for millions?

[BlakHavoc]

People are so quick to believe something posted on Social Media too lol. ND recently released a statement basically denying the whole thing, not saying they’re telling the truth either, but it’s smart to allow both sides to make a statement ppl.

[Gh05t]

Sorry innocent until proven guilty. If a crime was committed report it, call your person out by name and let them defend themselves. It's called due process. This type of crap is garbage because it ruins reputations and lives without a defense. We are not supposed to be a mob rule society, that does not end well. We have a legal system for a reason.

[Razzer]

"We have recently read on social media that an ex-employee of Naughty Dog, Dave Ballard, claims he was sexually harassed when he worked at Naughty Dog. We have not found any evidence of having received allegations from Mr. Ballard that he was harassed in any way at Naughty Dog or Sony Interactive Entertainment. Harassment and inappropriate conduct have no place at Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment. We have taken and always will take reports of sexual harassment and other workplace grievances very seriously. We value every single person who works at Naughty Dog and Sony interactive Entertainment. It is of utmost importance to us that we maintain a safe, productive workplace environment that allows us all to channel our shared passion for making games."

https://www.naughtydog.com/...

[Realms]

Some of you are hilarious "if" this happened because it's a serious accusation and Sony knew and actively helped to hide this then sure vilify them but as of now it's an allegation, and as such people need to calm down until there are more details or information. All these internet crusaders acting like Sony is the only corporation that has ever have to deal with such alleged actions by one of their employees is amusing. Yes I'm talking about all you xbox fanboys.

[InTheZoneAC]

he was harassed, not assaulted

Not saying it's right, but I have a feeling it went something like this:

Ballard said something, someone said that's gay, he got mad /story.

All these sjws mixing harassment with assault and not giving the benefit of the doubt, bunch of Roger Goodell kids in here.

[BIGBOSS08]

Is anyone surprised? This stuff happens way more than we think but we just don't hear about it.

[3-4-5]

If true....done with Naughty Dog.

[DillyDilly]

Im assuming the only reason he is coming out because of being inspired by Hollywood ?

[DillyDilly]

So if more former / current employees start coming out at Sony / Naughty Dog this will be the end of Naughty Dog & hurt Sony

[DillyDilly]

Look at these old Sony Music stories - http://variety.com/2017/mus... - http://www.businessinsider.... - https://weareultraviolet.or...

[CrazedFiend]

WTF Sony?

Companies doing dumb s#!t like this is why the issue is such a problem in the first place. Who in their right mind would want to come forward if they knew they were going to be fired the next day?

$20,000 hush money for one is cheap, and to Simply admits that the reason why you're firing him isn't the reason you officially put on record for firing him.

It is an interesting twist that it's a man this time though.

[CrazedFiend]

?

[LordofYogurt]

Well...

[Da12RespectA]

Fight for justice!

[gbsrnctaln]

Sounds like somebody is butthurt...maybe literally...

[dcbronco]

Sexual harassment is a part of many workplaces. I've seen it go in multiple directions. How you handle it will determine the outcome. If you let someone know you aren't interested and they persist, download a recorder app that works with a screen lock. They work really well. Smartphone mics are great. Also works well for other office issues. But most times a stern NO works well on humans and dogs. The reality is "harassment" often leads to relationships as society moves toward 70 hour+ work weeks.