Update (August 11th 2022): Fosty has threatened his accusers with legal action after being released from Excel Esports.
Original article: UK-based esports organisation Excel Esports have suspended their social media manager Fosty (aka Aleksa) after screenshots of his messages were posted online.
Excel are currently conducting an investigation into the matter, as detailed by this statement on Twitter from Excel Esports CEO Wouter Sleijffers and COO Tim Reichert, and said they will ‘come back with an update and findings in due course’.
The investigation will be both internal and external.
Excel posted the update a few hours after public allegations surfaced.
Fosty said below this tweet: “I will cooperate with Excel and make sure to clear my name, just know that you shouldn’t believe in everything you read. To those who are willing to wait and hear my part of the story, thank you.”
What did Fosty do to get suspended from Excel?
Twitter user TOR Yuri published a Twitlonger yesterday evening, titled: ‘The Problem with Fosty: Harassment, Unprofessionalism, Inappropriate Behaviour.’
He has been accused of flirting with girls aged under 18, making racist comments and defending Adolf Hitler, among other accusations. Yuri also posted several screenshots of Fosty’s Discord messages and collated accounts from other people about him.
In England and Wales, the age of consent for sexual relations is 16, however there are other laws for those aged between 16 and 18. For example, you can’t take a photo or video of someone under 18 engaging in sexual activity, or take part in sexual activity with someone under 18 if you are in a position of trust.
There are different age of consent laws in different countries across Europe and the world.
Yuri also claimed that Excel Esports had been contacted about Fosty’s behaviour, saying that “we were strung along for a long time, with false promises of action”.
“We were also informed that there was an attempt of removal, only for a higher-up in Excel to defend Fosty from being fired,” Yuri said.
Yuri also said Fosty came after the accusors, ‘showing zero remorse for his actions and tried to victim blame’.
Yuri said:
“I just want justice for all his victims, and I want people to understand that just because someone has a platform, they should not be excused to [do] absolutely awful things to other people.”
TOR Yuri
“Fosty, you’ve shown zero remorse for any awful thing you’ve ever done, despite claiming that you’re “trying to change”, you never show it. Actions speak louder than words, and yours have shown that you do not deserve a platform or a place in this community. I truly hope you genuinely reflect on why it had to come to this and become a better person in the future, I really do.”
Yuri also responded to accusations of faking evidence in the past.
We’ll post an update following the conclusion of Excel’s investigation.
A few months ago, Excel Esports announced management changes and had a launch opening for their Shoreditch office.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
