TobiWan responds to sexual assault allegations, speaks on future
After several days of silence, Toby “TobiWan” Dawson has responded to the numerous claims of sexual misconduct against him and has also announced his retirement from esports.
The famed Dota 2 caster was one of the biggest names mentioned within a cascading series of sexual misconduct allegations across the entire video game industry. In a lengthy Twitter post, TobiWan denied any criminal misconduct but apologized for “offending anyone.”
— Inactive (@TobiWanDOTA) July 2, 2020
TobiWan stated that he is officially done with esports, and his Twitter account’s profile name has been changed to “Inactive.” His Reddit account was also deleted.
TobiWan leaves Dota 2 after sexual assualt claims pile up
In late June, Twitter user @CofactorStrudel stated that TobiWan was involved in a series of sexual misconduct incidents. It was not made clear what exactly had happened.
Around the same time, cosplayer and girlfriend of Dota 2 pro player and commentator Troels “syndereN” Nielsen stated that an unnamed personality in the scene had gone against her clear and repeated “No” wishes and initiated sexual contact. She stated that she did not want to name who this was due to her belief that the person had changed.
The next day, TobiWan released a strange post on Twitter where he admitted to unspecified misdeeds.
“I am aware that I have committed some horrible actions in the past and I wish to atone for them. If I have not reached out to you, please reach out to me and I will listen and acknowledge,” TobiWan said in a now-deleted tweet.
He then put out a length post discussing previous relationships with women and sexual encounters with fans. None of the incidents he described involved nonconsentual sex.
Shortly thereafter, Meruna stated that the individual who she had discussed was indeed TobiWan. An artist using the pen name Botjira also came forward and stated that she had once needed to physically flee from TobiWan due to his persistent sexual advances.
Following these allegations becoming public, TobiWan was met with swift condemnation from a long list of Dota 2 personalities. Voice lines from TobiWan in The International 10 Battle Pass were removed by Dota 2 developer Valve.
Not a single doubt in my mind. Get him the fuck away from DotA https://t.co/1D5F5s2uwT
— Cap (@DotACapitalist) June 25, 2020
Owen “ODPixel” Davies flatly stated “there is absolutely no place for someone like Tobi in our scene.”
Ted “PyrionFlax” Forsyth discussed how he had previously made others aware of the allegations against TobiWan at the time, but lamented his willingness to work with TobiWan despite knowing of those actions.
Alongside TobiWan, several other prominent Dota 2 personalities have announced the end of their careers.
Grant “GranDGranT” Harris stepped away from esports after being cut from Evil Geniuses over allegations of being sexually aggressive towards women at Dota 2 events. This was immediately followed by allegations of date rape.
Though he is not being accused of any sexual indiscretions, Paul “ReDeYe” Chaloner announced an end to his career in esports after allegations of assault and a past domestic violence case being brought to light.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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