Last year Alex wrote a post on the Texas Startup Blog announcing that a Texas based startup called eSports Partners (evidently backed by Jerry Jones) raised $5MM (the post is likely removed from here, but Google has a cache here). The text of the post is below:
According to Todd Anders from GuideCap, Coppell based eSports Partners raised a $5,000,000 senior credit facility from Compass Bank (GuideCap arranged the financing). Never heard of eSports? Todd explained, “The company is very low profile and wants to keep it that way.”
Run by CEO Michael McKay, eSports is a merchandise service provider offering solutions for NFL and collegiate markets. The company reported revenues of $31.5MM with 250 employees.
Their solutions include ecommerce (site design, content development and management), retail consulting (store locations, build out, merchandising and management), game day operations (venues to sell team merchandise), catalogs (creation and order fullfullment) and several other related services.
eSports’ clients (gathered from a quick Google search) include the San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, University of Arkansas Razorbacks, Miami Doplhins, University of Tennessee, Miami Hurricanes, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, Indianpolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals and Texas A&M University.
He never took much notice, but evidently the post received a few negative comments and as a result the company requested that Alex remove the negative comments and provide the identities of the people who made negative comments. After talking it over with a couple of lawyers he was assured that he would prevail, but only after $20,000+ in legal costs. Alex contacted the company and their lawyers and suggested that he was willing to remove the post and the comments, but he wasn’t willing to provide the identities unless ordered to by a court. The company demanded that he backup the database and retain it in the event that the company can secure a court order for the release of the identities.
Do you think Alex is doing the right thing? Should he remove the post? What obligation does he have to stand up to companies who receive a few negative comments? We would love your comments (positive or negative). Letter below:
January 19th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
HOLY Crap! What happened to free speech and the right to publish opinions? Former employees can’t voice grievances to whomever they wish anonymously? Ridiculous.
The letter makes Alex out to have the same online influence as the publisher of Star or the National Enquirer. On some level, perhaps that is a compliment!? Does this mean I have to start taking Alex seriouslyl!? (Obviously they have never met him! j/k) Who knew he was such a powerful media mogul.
Does this set a whole new standard for blog etiquette? Do I need a journalism degree now? A legal department for my Wordpress!? So much pressure. No wonder movie starlets get into politics. All of a sudden, with a bigger audience and popularity comes a huge social responsibility, assumed authority and legal ramifications.
I don’t have an answer, but anyone has the right to comment — even companies. We all live in the same world which means we affect and react to all the same things. Sometimes we can drive people to write graffiti. Big Business makes it seem like its possible to have a “cone of silence” (NDAs, intellectual property, non-competes, etc…), but the truth in their business practices will come out on its own.
On their part, what a horrible approach. “respectfully demand”? What about their responsibility and image? Blunt force that just begs for further rebellion! Screw them. Have a million small time bloggers run the same comments. I mean, what are they going to do? Send legal notices to all bloggers that post their thoughts? Support Big brother for tracking all the comments one person makes? Is this another derivative of being “Dooced”?
What if they tried picking up the phone to call Alex instead of the Legal Dept? Did they consider providing their side of the story… or acting like decent professional people to address the situation? This letter of response tells me that whatever their ex-employees were complaining about was probably just! Doesn’t sound like they have a middle ground (unless I am missing part of the story).
January 26th, 2007 at 3:42 am
I hope that Levi McCathern II gonna eat his own sh*t.
We all are sick and tired of such dumb behavior and such corporations.
The single language they understand is money.
They have to lose their money for each stupid claim and act they do.
If thousand of people say their “no”, the most brilliant lawyers cannot help them to survive.
I hope that salary of the dump person is directly related to the success of his own decisions / missteps. He has to think before dictate his orders to independend media.
Digg this story everywhere!
August 15th, 2007 at 11:27 am
[...] eight months ago we wrote a post titled, “The eSports Partners Comment Debacle.“ The post detailed how I had written a short post indicating that eSports had raised money [...]
September 4th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I would love to know what right eSports Partners has to censor other peoples views & comments of their company. I actually made the mistake of working for them some time back and it was a nightmare.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I worked for them as well and this is the same type of nonsense Michael and Rochelle dole out daily. He’s a tyrant of leader (if one can call him a leader) and someone with very little character as a person.
I wouldn’t worry much about his threats. He couldn’t pay his bills back when I worked for them - to the point the power was turned off. His lawyers would be wise to ignore any request he makes for action, for fear of doing the work without being paid a cent.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
While I was there for 2 months, 4 others were let go. 2 days before thanksgiving 5 were no longer working there. One week later and there are 3 less working there. Micro-management from the CEO will do that. I also heard they just lost the Colts as a client to http://www.maingateinc.com/news.php. That’s gotta hurt!!!
November 29th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
The man has to be a descendent of Adolf Hitler. He tries with all his might to rule with an iron fist. How can one man be so neglagent?!?! Yes he’s running this company, running it straight into the ground. I give it a year. They can’t pay vendors, they low-ball all employees. Is motto is “Under promise, over deliver”! What a load!!! I’m glad I’m off “The Airplane” that is eSports.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
The HR Dept. of this company is ridiculous. In the 3 months I have worked with them, they don’t pay for the accurate hours, they lie ridiculously about when to expect checks. On more than one occasion I have seen them issue checks with less hours then employees have worked. Even on a corporate level they have trouble providing health insurance. They recently lost their payroll person and have delayed their commission checks by over a week to people during Christmas time. I am hardly a disgruntled employee, this isn’t my living expenses or disgruntled wouldn’t be the word for it. I have no contract that silences me for any reason and I wish they would send some legal crap to me because it is they who are in the wrong. It is sad that someone in their payroll department can’t deduce 5% of a total and then deduct FICA/SS/MED from it. There is really no excuse but it does imply they are not professionals by any stretch of the imagination.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I would advise anyone thinking about taking up employment there to turn away and run as fast and far as possible!
January 4th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I worked for them for several years. I was able to experience things in sports I can never thank them enough for. But the price I paid in the end was like that I would never wish on another.
The concept of the company is the best. Success is a no-brainer if you can follow the needs of the client and respect the customer.
The leadership has been lost. They built thier success on the backs of many who were selfless and team players. People who respected the company, the client, and mostly the customers. Problem is… they (MM & RC) are not team players, they are self-centered. They respect no one, the client, the customer, and mostly employees.
Once you question anything you are out… Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid.
March 22nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Hello everybody, my name is Damion, and I’m glad to join your conmunity,
and wish to assit as far as possible.
June 8th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
C’mon people! Knocking eSports like y’all are is just unfair. Imagine how hard it is to find employees with all of this trash written about the company. If you can’t find employees, they can’t be fired or quit. Without the employees coming in the door to feed this cycle, the turnover may drop dangerously low, perhaps even below 100% per year.
Now, don’t be too alarmed; I’m sure they’re already closing in on 100% for the year, but eSports isn’t simply about meeting expectations.
I like to think of blogs as a bus, and all the comments posted by users are like passengers on that bus. Comments that express bad attitudes might be asked off the bus. You don’t want your comment to be asked off the bus, do you? It’s not even Thanksgiving.
Aside from keeping the internal numbers up, there’s also pressure of signing teams. It appears that they landed the Houston Texans this year; a blockbuster deal with a top-tier team. Meanwhile it appears that things aren’t looking so hot with the Colts or the Cowboys. Now, normally you’d think that losing two teams while only gaining one is movement in the wrong direction, but people, we’re talking about getting the Texans vs the Colts and Cowboys. It’s not always about the number of teams you have.
So, lay off. eSports is doing fine without y’all. The fact that y’all have so much time to post on blogs like this indicates that you’re not being worked hard enough at your current jobs. Why should the world listen to the kind of people who leave the office right at 6.
- Inigo