Longtime Polygon video producer Nick Robinson has “parted ways” with the site following a string of allegations that surfaced on Twitter at the beginning of the week.
The accusations were made in the wake of a tweet Robinson wrote about the Nintendo Switch title Overcooked, which prompted this in reply:
This led to an outpouring of comments from women working in video games throughout the day, many of them concerning sexual advances made over social media private messaging. Few of these mentioned Robinson by name, but their timing, replies and subject matter were seen to be related (note: One was by a writer for Kotaku.)
Following the allegations coming forward on August 5, Polygon editor in chief Chris Grant announced that Robinson had been suspended pending “a thorough Vox Media inquiry”. Earlier today, he updated to say that the site would be “parting ways with Nick Robinson, effective immediately”.
Update: We’re parting ways with Nick Robinson, effective immediately. I wish him the best.
— chris grant (@chrisgrant) August 10, 2017
At the same time, Robinson issued this statement:
Robinson is perhaps best-known for his role as co-host of Car Boys, a popular YouTube series about the driving game BeamNG.drive.
Comments
48 responses to “Polygon Parts Ways With Nick Robinson Following Twitter Claims”
Ah, the perils of trying to get lucky in the internet age. Now you have to worry about any disgruntled potential love interest airing your attempts to score with a lot of people whose business it isn’t. If it was harassment then there is an avenue to report that. Trial by social media is, quite frankly, a cop-out and unfair to ALL involved (especially the victim of any harassment).
This poor idiot…. Did he not know you have to file a 12 page application form prior to flirting these days.
More like you have to flirt so mildly and politely that the person with whom you are flirting will mistake it for friend-zoning unless they make a lucky guess 🙂
B1: “Are you trying to flirt with me?”
B2: “No! No, no, no… unless… would you be OK if I were to flirt with you?”
B1: “Errr… I guess so?”
B2: “OK then! … … … So… how you doin’? *wink*”
Dear Zir,
I wish to express my interest in extending our levels of acquaintance. Please find attached my 12 page approval from the Department of Relationships as an approved potential love interest as per clauses S3.1, S.3 (ii) and (ix) and Parts F, L, I, R and T of the SJW Relationship Act 2015.
Regards
Nick
Or… Don’t try to sleaze onto every woman you meet at work and ask for nudes. But nah, you’re right, its all SJW’s fault. /s
I’m sorry did it say every woman he met? Do have evidence of that at all?
Nice broad brush you are using there. Make it up as you go don’t worry social media will make it the truth.
using a pretty broad brush yourself in regards to people you perceive as SJWs , albeit in a more snarky way.
I thought you wear it with pride… Carry on outlawing flirting.
Not to mention the blood test, urine test, spit test, gender identity knowledge test, the wage gap acceptance test, the pronoun exam, plus a scouring of Facebook/Twitter/Email for anything that might be remotely sexual in nature
If he was drop dead gorgeous then nobody would be complaining about his DMs.
Ummm no. You comment is absolute garbage
So is your comment. Gotta love the guilty until proven innocent kotaku lynch mob.
I love how you’re sticking with this ‘innocent until proven guilty’ defence when he’s already admitted guilt.
You don’t get it, drop dead gorgeous guys would never get so thirsty that they would have to stoop to DM’ing girls on Twitter and begging for nudes. You really think Zac Efron or One Direction are DMing for nudes? They have girls showing up at their door begging them for sex.
Imagine disgruntling someone to that point. “Your attempts to score” as you so crudely put it, obviously made someone uncomfortable. If they’re airing their grievances and providing evidence, it means that the person causing those grievances fucked up, and isn’t a victim in this scenario. Somehow, in your statement, you’re immediately shifting the blame to the victim, who is somehow in the wrong for sharing something that made them uncomfortable. The victim in this scenario obviously received something that made them uncomfortable. Something that they believed violated the boundaries set between themselves and the other person. Yet, when evidence of this transgression surfaces, it’s the violator’s boundaries that have somehow been transgressed upon. Because, I’m sorry, but that’s fucking stupid.
So he got suspended for asking for nudes.
On the sexual harassment scale, that must be pretty low. Isn’t that usually a firm talking to by HR and back to work normally?
Or is it because it’s the gaming industry that trial by social media has to happen.
Sure. Just go and ask your boss for nudes next time you’re at work. See how much they laugh. Point out you’re serious. Make sure you are sure your boss knows you want them nudes.
It’ll be great for your immediate and long term job prospects.
Nope. If they are serious enough for HR or management to begin an investigation then they are serious. There’s no “low” on the scale at that point.
In Australia you’d probably have a go for unfair dismissal if you got fired for asking for nudes privately. Unless it was during the course of your employment (i.e. on company time) or the Police made it a criminal investigation, in which case your employer would be justified in suspending you, assuming the charge had an impact on your ability to work in your role, which it obviously would, here.
Wrong. Asking for nudes in the Australia I’ve worked in for 15 years across startups, government departments and large organisations would be grounds for immediate dismissal.
The Fair Work commission doesn’t defend your perceived right to ask for a dick pic.
Also why are you defending a dude who admitted he acted inappropriately?
Have you seen the correspondence in question?
Odds on you haven’t because this article doesn’t even provide it.
So why are you acting along the lines of guilty until proven innocent?
Umm his mea culpa….
Who now will take the “power” position of Polygon video producer?
Can the new person in this role make use of this power to bring North Korea to heel? One can only hope.
I hear the Mooch is looking for a new position!
POWER POSITION!
You know what, it sucks that you can’t condemn this stuff (and I mean Polygon and Twitter’s behaviour) without being shamed, shut down and ultimately painted with the same huge brush reserved for sex offenders and nazis. The extreme left’s entire worldview revolves around winning battles, not wars.
I think it’s just that the age of social media has given everyone a megaphone, and SJWs take the W in their name seriously. If the only way they can try to make a difference is by condemning others online, they’ll not be found wanting, by Jupiter!
As someone would reluctantly identify themselves as left wing if forced to call myself something (I believe labelling ourselves and others helps nobody but hey), I found myself watching some of Ben Shapiro’s arguments on youtube the other night and nodding my head to all of it.
He made a particularly salient point about transgender people. It’s totally fine to be male and call yourself female or vice versa, you’re in charge of your own body and identity. But when you start attacking other people or trying to punish them for not subscribing to your own worldview that’s when it becomes a problem.
Similarly, you’re allowed to hold strong views about this that and the other. But when you force others to behave in line with those views that’s when you are the one who is “problematic”. This can be applied to the current situation with politicians making it as hard as possible for gay marriage to get through in Australia. It can also be applied to strangers online policing how others choose to behave romantically and sexually.
So Nick flirting with people using his Polygon branded twitter account is unprofessional, sure, but it’s not actually something worth being fired over unless he’s propositioning an exchange of coverage for sexual favours. You can argue that it could be implied, but I’d hope, given Polygon’s key role in the Gamergate nonsense, that any of their staff would be stupid enough to try this, and that anyone interacting with them would be stupid enough to assume that’s what was happening.
I believe Robinson’s job as a semi-public figure shouldn’t mean he can’t meet possible romantic partners through his network. And it shouldn’t mean that the public is allowed to shame him for being a sexual being, as long as he’s being respectful in his approach. The same people condemning him would never put up with the condemnation of a woman expressing her sexuality in this very normal way.
Careful… You’ll be labelled as a MRA around here and possibly a “fedora” wearer for such thoughts.
Completely agree. Tolerance seems to be a one-way street for some people.
It’s more like two idiots driving opposite ways down an ally way designed for pedestrians.
Neither can move forward, both expect the other to yield and they shouldn’t bloody be there to begin with.
To put it another way, this is far from the hill that either side should send anyone to die.
It’s just a self fulfilling prophecy at this stage, a constant loop of “identities” bumping heads like two sloths fighting over a dried turd.
its called sexual harassment, want to do that sort of stuff do it in private.
Haha yeah totally! Out of sight, out of mind am I right, @pavonis
Aside from you poorly chosen words, you argument assumes something untoward has happened. Approaching people you’d like to date, whether it’s in person or online, does not constitute sexual harassment. To suggest that it does is not only absurd, but also disrespectful to people who actually experience harassment.
it is when you are using a work email or social media, you are representing the values of the company. I would like to see you try and debate semantics if you tried to do the same at work. Especially if the other party believe they are interacting with you on a professional level and you break out ‘how about it lady?’. Do that sort of rubbish in your own time, on your own social media, no when you are working.
If you dont understand why that is inappropriate, good luck in your professional life. PS you might want to research the legislation around such things, its all very real, clear and binding.
Have you actually even read the discourse?
Or is it just that you normally follow the guilty until proven innocent methodology?
Well seeing as Nick Robinson is still in control of his (currently live) twitter handle, it’s very clearly not Polygon owned social media. I know you want this to be a clean cut, clear conflict and resolution, but unfortunately it’s never that simple in the real world.
Is celibacy in Polygon’s corporate values? Is their employees’ psychological and emotional wellbeing in their values?
You are making so many assumptions that we do not have confirmation of right now, including but not limited to assuming when it was done, what exactly was said, whether or not the interaction was explicit or sexually aggressive, etc.
I’ve already stated I think it’s unprofessional for him to be using a twitter associated with Polygon to make these advances but having actually checked the thing and seeing that it’s his personal one, I don’t even know about that anymore.
All this really boils down to is the perpetual bad idea that is listing your place of employment on your social media pages. Seriously, why do people do that? It can only serve to create impossible conflicts for you and your employer. Where innocuous adult behaviour like the courtship and sexual attraction that is built into us biologically can get you fired and condemned.
To be clear: IF Robinson is literally sending dick pics as his opening message to these people, or being grossly forward and sexually suggestive, or saying “Polygon says we gotta bang” then we’ve got problems. BUT we don’t know that yet, and we gotta wait for more evidence. Surely we can all agree upon that, right?
and how is the alt-right any different? An extremists is an extremist, it doesnt matter what side of a social debate you are on.
I find anyone who uses the term SJW really arent worth listening to. they are only interested in using a ‘buzz word’ as short hand instead of using grown up sentences.
You know, I saw that someone blew up a huge inflatable chicken that resembled Trump within view of the White House yesterday. Someone in the comments said “That’s really disrespectful”, and all the replies were “Trump is really disrespectful!” They’re right, Trump is disrespectful. He’s thoroughly unqualified for the job and he’s constantly saying or doing things that are outright hostile to people that are already in precarious situations.
But they’re not Trump. They’re better than Trump. At least they claim to be. I mean without the moral high ground, they’re exactly as bad as the people you rail against. If your argument is “how is the alt-right any different?” then you really need to examine the meaning of that statement. If you’re throwing out rhetoric about how the enemy does already does what you’re being accused of, maybe you’ve become the very thing you hate.
“SJW” or “Alt-Right” are not the only two options. You’re not one or the other. There are many, many people out there who can discuss and implement positive change without being either of the crybabies on each end of the spectrum. Strive to pay attention to them, not the people who behave in such a way that, frankly, earns them the dismissive nicknames they’ve been given.
Oh I thought the irony was delicious…. “Anyone using SJW only interested in buzzwords let me just rant on about the alt-right….”
Haha that didn’t even register with me until you said that. Sometimes you just have to sit back and let people win the debates for you I guess.
I’ve been accused of shit posting but sometimes it’s just….
Isn’t the difference that SJW is an epithet often spit out with maximum virulence, while “at-right” is a term coined and proudly used by those people themselves?
I can’t even enjoy my popcorn with this stuff anymore.
Vox media (polygon/theVerge) are a joke, hypocrites too. Trying to project this SJW image meanwhile they still employ dickhead bigots like Ben Kuchera. A guy whose forum posts & tweets in the 2000s & early 2010s were so racist he earned the nick name Ku Klux Kuchera. Perhaps he’s a changed man or least he changed his twitter by deleting almost every tweet from 2007-2013. He’s not the only one it’s like a closet full of skeletons over there.
As far as journalism goes they’re the Fox News of tech media with articles of biased propaganda. Shadier than a rain forest.
Yep, I got banned from polygon for commenting on an article that it was fucking stupid to bring politics into their reporting. It was something about how the game For Honor had soldiers that have a Latin-phrased battle cry (as they would way before democratic politics) that happens to be used by a far-right movement. This of course blew up the comments and shit was being flung post for post. I call them out and I get banned.
The comments here are a mess, geez.
There are certain things that are ethically frowned on. Doctors dating their patients, for example, is a massive ethical violation, so much so that it’s codified into medical licencing. On the weaker end of the scale, using professional connections for personal reasons is also pretty widely frowned upon. At one company I worked at several years ago, a customer service agent called a customer back to ask her out. She reported it and he was fired on the spot.
A professional connection is for work purposes only. Most people don’t want to have to deal with unsolicited advances coming from business contacts, because aside from being really uncomfortable it taints any future interactions between the people involved.
That doesn’t mean you can’t date through work, but it does mean you have to be much more careful about it. First, you don’t introduce anything personal at all into a professional relationship until it becomes a personal one. It becomes a personal one if you invite the other person to meet outside the context of work and they agree. It doesn’t become personal because you said hi outside of work hours and they said hi back.
You ask once, you don’t get personal without explicit consent, and you don’t keep pushing if they say no. They’re not hard rules to follow and if you do follow them you’re not going to get into trouble.
Professionalism matters, guys. Even Robinson knows he acted inappropriately. I hate the internet pitchfork mob as much as any of you, but don’t use that as a reason to defend a guy who screwed up, inappropriately crossed professional/personal boundaries, and knew he was in the wrong for it.
Goes to show that you can literally turn any topic into a social justice skirmish with just one tweet. Stay classy gamergate.
Not sure where Gamergate fits in here. This is a classic case of SJW’s turning on themselves. I think the majority of the trolls have moved on from what is left of the Gamergate movement now haven’t they? Fairly certain they just want ethics in journalism minus the calls to rape and pillage females.
One thing that doesn’t seem to come up in comment discussions of Robinson’s removal baffles me.
Polygon is, at its core, an offshoot of the McElroy brothers (namely Griffin and Justin). True, the site is owned and edited by other people but they were there at the beginning, and the site got its first real fans as imports from the slew of McElroy podcasts.
While there might be gaming sites out there where a producer could pull this shit and *maybe* get away with keeping their job by publically apologizing, Polygon is inherently intertwined with the McElroy brand: semi-adult humor presented in a safe and accepting space.
One could rant and rave about how this is an “SJW” stance to take as a gaming website/podcast host but that’s what’s made the McElroys a force to be reckoned with in the podcast world, and it has easily ported over to YouTube. Notice all of the videos on Polygon’s YouTube channel that stand out with view counts on the regular are ones that involve either Griffin, Justin, or both of them together.
All of this to say: Robinson’s behavior is shit that does not fly with either the McElroy brand or its fanbase. It was obvious he was out on his ass the second Griffin tweeted about how this revelation made him so upset he was going to go offline for the rest of the day.