EPTStephano contract situation - Page 34
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Lack of content, flaming (of the French or anyone) and useless posts will be punished. Please keep it from being too inflammatory and keep discussion on-topic. -semioldguy (p.103) Update: Please read http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=267506#1 and continue the discussion there. | ||
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PeachTea
United States149 Posts
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espMisio
Poland143 Posts
We know many of you are quite confused as to the recent incident involving Stephano and Team Millennium. Frankly, we are as well. As of the time of this post both have ignored our requests for open discussions. Our goal in this statement is to provide you with our side of the story, even as we are actively investigating the proper course of action, not only for ourselves but for the greater good of eSports in general. We are proud of the fact that compLexity Gaming has been a global presence in eSports since 2003. During that time we have not been perfect but we have always tried to conduct our business affairs with the highest level of integrity. We have been honored to work with some of the best gamers in the world in multiple gaming titles and have made lifelong friendships in this "business" that is much more of a passion project than a profit machine. We say this because today, Millennium's outrageous allegations have suggested that our pursuit of Stephano was done in a less than honorable manner. To that we take great exception. Here are the facts (all of which can be proven by written logs): 1) We first contacted Stephano on September 1st, 2011. We stated our interest in retaining his services and he stated that he was in no way contracted to Millennium and was interested in joining compLexity. 2) For the next 18 days we conducted negotiations. We would make an offer and Millennium would make a counter offer. At no point did we apply pressure other than to make it clear that we were willing to do what it would take to secure his services. 3) Over the course of several days, Jason Bass spent time explaining our contract to Stephano in detail and making sure he understood all of the terms. 4) Yesterday Stephano contacted coL.CatZ and our COO Jason Bass to inform them he had made his final decision and told CatZ "Don't worry I won't change my mind again." He then executed a legally binding contract with our organization. He seemed genuinely excited to be a part of our organization and joined our private Skype channel to chat with the team before going to bed. 5) Stephano's contract with compLexity made him one of the highest paid SC2 players in the world and ensured him global travel, training in Korea and access to other undisclosed plans we have for the future. In no way was he taken advantage of or pressured into a subpar agreement. Today we were very surprised and disappointed to see that Millennium had announced Stephano would not be leaving their organization- completely disregarding and disrespecting the fact that he had 18 days to consider the offers and had executed a legally binding contract with our organization. As mentioned previously, as of the time of this post both Millennium and Stephano have refused to answer our emails requesting a discussion of this serious matter. This leaves us in a very difficult situation. As people who are passionate about eSports, this situation is quickly turning out to be a humiliating one despite our best efforts to handle matters in the right way. By no means do we want to force a player to be part of our gaming family. For over eight years gamers have longed to play under the compLexity banner. To have someone treat our sincere offer of support and cooperation in such a light hearted manner is frustrating and disheartening. On the other side of the coin, in order for all of us to have a stable and maturing eSports environment there absolutely must be respect for and adherence to legally binding contracts. How can any organization be expected to conduct the business side of gaming (acquiring and retaining sponsors, etc) if contracts are disregarded and players/teams do whatever they feel like at the moment? We believe the answer is clear- contracts must be honored and legally binding promises enforced if we are to continue our collective growth. It has never been our wish to legally pursue a gamer or another gaming organization but at what point must a stand be taken? These are the questions we are discussing today. We will fully review our options and will seriously consider legal action in this matter. Many observers would publicly crucify us for taking such a stand but it is our belief that doing what is right is more important that always doing what is popular. It is our intention to consult with other eSports leaders and weigh their opinions highly. Although this is ultimately our business decision and responsibility, the ramifications will be felt world-wide and we feel an obligation to get opinions from our respected colleagues. We sincerely apologize to the coL Community and the broader eSports community for this embarrassing turn of events and we greatly thank you for your support. Both of us have poured ourselves into eSports for nearly a decade and are very disheartened by this situation. Sincerely yours, Jason Lake Jason Bass compLexity Gaming" | ||
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Gwal
Spain20 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:30 SnoLys wrote: Good thing it can't be, since he is a French citizen signing with a foreign company, only french contracts can be signed. French law and all. And in France you have 1 month after signing before it's final. I'm sorry but you're wrong. I'm French, and I live and work in Spain, and I have a spanish work contract valid under spanish law. I guess same thing applies here. | ||
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euroboy
Sweden536 Posts
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labbe
Sweden1456 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:36 Kennigit wrote: www.complexitygaming.com/news/3129/ If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. | ||
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Gheed
United States972 Posts
I wouldn't take that to mean much. Considering there aren't that many SC2 players, and a lot of the Koreans aren't salaried, you could say anybody on one of the higher end western teams is among the highest paid players. Seems more like they were trying to hype up how good their contract with Stephano was (which it could have been, we don't know). | ||
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TidusX.Yuna
United States239 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:42 labbe wrote: If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. If Complexity really has a case (which we don't know, not enough information as it is) it really would be for the good of E-sports. If contracts can just be broken at will then chaos would ensue. | ||
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Sandro
897 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:42 labbe wrote: If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. Yeah, lets just not do anything and allow things like this to happen over and over so contracts don't mean jack shit anymore. | ||
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Hodgy
United States64 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:35 Zalitara wrote: ramble Don't over react to my statement. I am simply saying they should not refer to themselves as a family but as a business. | ||
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Emporio
United States3069 Posts
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Vul
United States685 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:42 labbe wrote: If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. You really don't think its in the best interest of competitive SC2 to have legally binding contracts? | ||
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WArped
United Kingdom4845 Posts
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ragnorr
Denmark6097 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:42 labbe wrote: If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. Why not? Standing a point that breaking contracts has consequences is only a good thing for teams. Otherwise we would end up at a point where contracts were pointless | ||
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Benjef
United Kingdom6921 Posts
Shame if Col makes to look like a bad guy during this cause they did everything by the book. Just Stephano changed his mind. Imo neither team is at fault here but the player is =/. | ||
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AxionSteel
United States7754 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:37 qwertzi wrote: funny and sad both.. unfortunately no one besides the parties involved know what really happend. but I dont see how col could have pressured stephano... they can make an offer and set a deadline... nothing more... it rather sounds to me that millenium did simply not accept the outcome and that they in turn did the pressuring.. and guilted stephano into staying... just as they described in their statement, which i perceive as very unsportsmanlike, where they state they do not accept the situation etc. I think liquid could have "guilted" huk into staying as well, but they simply accepted that eg made an offer they could not match (unfortunately).. anyway.. it all sounds rather fishy, and in col. case i would not just let it go.. obviously you cannot make a player play for a team he doesnt want to play for, however, if he signed a contract he and mil both have to honor that contract. the only solution is for mil. to buy him out of that contract. which i guess col would agree, since they too wouldnt want a player on their rooster that doesnt want to be there.. Yeah this is how I see it too. Certainly coL did nothing wrong. | ||
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Mordiford
4448 Posts
If this nonsense continues to slide every other week, then you can't really expect professionalism in eSports. If contracts aren't worth anything, then what's the point in having them in the first place? | ||
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dpL
Sweden571 Posts
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clusen
Germany8702 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:42 labbe wrote: If Complexity are going too sue someone, please don't try to make it sound like you are doing in "For the greater good of eSports". That would just be laughable. They don't imo, but this case will have a big influence on the future. I'm really curious how this turns out. | ||
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WoLFoU
France69 Posts
4) Yesterday Stephano contacted coL.CatZ and our COO Jason Bass to inform them he had made his final decision and told CatZ "Don't worry I won't change my mind again." He then executed a legally binding contract with our organization. He seemed genuinely excited to be a part of our organization and joined our private Skype channel to chat with the team before going to bed. This is not a signature but a verbal agreement. I do not think Col has received the signed contract from what I understand. So for me, Col made the announcement too early without having received the signed contract. Also in French law, there is a time to retract. Gogo Stephano! | ||
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merz
Sweden2760 Posts
On September 20 2011 04:41 Gwal wrote: I'm sorry but you're wrong. I'm French, and I live and work in Spain, and I have a spanish work contract valid under spanish law. I guess same thing applies here. While you're kinda right it's different. You live and work in Spain, thus you are obliged to follow national law. Stephano lives and "works" in france, signs with a company that doesn't really do work outside the US. It's more of a question if the two national law systems could ever come to an agreement on which one should be applied. And if either one of them is applied and gets a ruling, will it hold true in the other country? etc. It's a fucking mess. | ||
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