Marta J. August 14, 2019
After numerous women have come out to accuse Chris Bahn of sexual assault, the esports photographer has been banned from a number of fighting game tournaments and has been disqualified as a finalist for The Esports Awards.
It’s common for members of the fighting game community to share rooms with each other when attending events or tournaments in order to save money. A former journalist and a practicing esports photographer, Chris Bahn, allegedly used such a situation to touch women with whom he shared a bed.
A post on The On Blast show’s Facebook page, shared by the show’s host James Fink, suggests he has talked with many women from around the fighting game community about this issue, each of whom has accused Bahn him of inappropriate touching happening over the years. As the victims were coming out with their stories, they quickly realized they revolve around the same person.
One of the accusers shared shared in a comment that Bahn unexpectedly ended up sleeping in the same bed as her, and that he started touching her while she was asleep.
“He proceeded to brush up against my ass while I was asleep. I kept moving on the edge of the bed, and he got closer,” she wrote. “I was mortified.”
After the accusations went public, many FGC event organizers moved to ban Bahn from attending their events, including CEO Gaming, Combo Breaker, Texas Showdown, and Big E Gaming.
Bahn was one of the finalists for this years’ Esports Awards in the best esports photographer category. Following the bans, The Esports Awards ran an internal investigation and has decided to exclude him from the event, as they shared on Twitter.
Bahn has since given Dexerto a statement as an answer to the allegations. He took accountability for his actions and apologized to the victims, and said he’s seeking professional help.
"I wish to express my empathy to the victims for the emotional trauma that came from this,” he said. “My primary objective is to establish the healing process, push forward, and focus toward building anew."