Video game consultancy organization, Black Girl Gamers, threatened to take legal action against That Park Place following a report that it appears the company discriminates in their hiring practices.
A screenshot from Forspoken (2023), Square Enix
In an article titled “Forspoken Consultant Black Girl Gamers Appears To Discriminate In Their Hiring Practices While Claiming They Are Being Harassed,” it was posited that it appeared that the organization was discriminating in their hiring practices based off a post the organization made on X that read, “Looking for Black Women Content Creators that make Dungeons & Dragons (DND) content for some potential brand work! Hit us up!”
The post was also shared in an article titled “Children’s BBC Host Jules Hardy Calls For ‘Final Purge’ Of Gamers After Boycott List Created For Consultants Black Girl Gamers.”
Black Girl Gamers on X
Following the publication of these two articles, Black Girl Gamers took to X to threaten legal action against That Park Place. The organization wrote, “We’re addressing the recent allegations published on thatparkplace.com about discriminatory hiring practices within Black Girl Gamers. These claims are false and were made without prior fact-checking or verification from us or our representatives.”
“Black Girl Gamers operates as a contracting organization that collaborates with both freelancers and content creators from all backgrounds to work on various projects and initiatives to amplify underrepresented voices in gaming and make the community more inclusive,” the organization continued.
Black Girl Gamers on X
Next, they wrote, “Contrary to the allegations in the article, Black Girl Gamers has contracted freelancers of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnic backgrounds.”
“We have also included representation of all genders and backgrounds in our content, at our events, and in our marketing, consultation, and research projects, some of which are not publicly disclosed due to NDAs,” it posted.
Black Girl Gamers on X
The organization then claimed, “Evidence demonstrating our commitment to diversity and inclusion, including our non-discriminatory hiring practices, is readily available and easily searchable.”
“Upon discovering these false and defamatory allegations, we have taken steps to obtain legal counsel to take action against the publication and journalist, as well as subsequent content creators who have reshared the false allegations about our organization,” the company posted.
Black Girl Gamers on X
“We will continue to pursue further action against anyone who persists in spreading false and defamatory information about Black Girl Gamers, its founder, and its contractors and partners,” the organization stated.
“We value the talent and contributions of all our collaborators and we are committed to continuing to do so. Thank you to our community for the ongoing support,” the organization concluded.
Black Girl Gamers on X
Following the publication of this legal threat, former World of Warcraft Team Lead Mark Kern dug into Black Girl Gamers’ alleged hiring practices that are “readily available and easily searchable” and noted that he could not find a published hiring policy on their website. On top of that he shared that the company’s job board section of their website requires a password to access.
Kern wrote on X, “BGG goes on to state that evidence of their non-discriminatory hiring practices is ‘readily available and easily searchable.’ So I did some searches for BGG and “hiring policy” or “consultant” and was not able to find anything. In fact, the website has no published hiring policy that I could find. In fact, job posting listing are PASSWORD protected, and require that you first reach out to BGG to obtain access. This does not seem ‘easily searchable.'”
BGG goes on to state that evidence of their non-discriminatory hiring practices is “readily available and easily searchable.”
So I did some searches for BGG and “hiring policy” or “consultant” and was not able to find anything. In fact, the website has no published hiring policy… pic.twitter.com/tC0nhJEHyM
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 27, 2024
Kern went on to point out, “BGG’s own website claims to be 100% Minority Operated. I’ve seen ‘Minority Owned’ but what does Minority Operated mean? It is unclear if they mean 100% of management, or 100% of all staff: The 100% Minority operated claim, the SEALED job board, and the lack of a hiring policy on the website seem to contradict their claims of their hiring practices being ‘readily available and easily searchable.'”
BGG’s own website claims to be 100% Minority Operated.
I’ve seen “Minority Owned” but what does Minority Operated mean? It is unclear if they mean 100% of management, or 100% of all staff:
The 100% Minority operated claim, the SEALED job board, and the lack of a hiring policy… pic.twitter.com/rfm1GYcSs6
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 27, 2024
Kern also shared an application form on the company’s website to access its community which it describes as an “exclusive community of passionate black women and non-binary gamers.”
The application form states, “Do you identify as a woman or non-binary person? By selecting ‘Yes,’ you acknowledge that BGG does not permit self-identifying men to join our private community groups.”
So Black Girl Gamers also runs a community. But you must apply and cannot join if you self-identify as a man. pic.twitter.com/yZYZLF2p3A
— Grummz (@Grummz) March 27, 2024
On top of all of this, on the company’s FAQ section of their website, one question asks, “Can my white husband join? He’s black on the inside!” The response reads, “…if you don’t leave that man at home.”
Black Girl Gamers FAQ
Another question regarding the company’s consultancy business asks, “How can my company benefit from your consultancy services?”
The response reads, “In addition to the consultants on our team, Black Girl Gamers has access to a global community to source any required individuals and provide additional, robust insight for our clients. As experienced Black Women in the gaming industry, we have a global lens that combines DEI and decades of experience in the industry to create inclusive, insightful and innovative solutions for our client’s needs.”
Black Girl Gamers FAQ
Legal analyst Andrew Esquire reacted to the threat writing, “The most insane thing here is that the company in question has likely made statements about other parties that are closer to defamation than those of the news outlet. There is zero chance this hits the actual malice standard, and beyond that, opening up that particular company to discovery may yield some dirty laundry that they do not want to come to light.”
The most insane thing here is that the company in question has likely made statements about other parties that are closer to defamation than those of the news outlet.
There is zero chance this hits the actual malice standard, and beyond that, opening up that particular company… https://t.co/JKfS6Zregn
— Legal Mindset (@TheLegalMindset) March 27, 2024
When asked about reposting the article by Kern, Esquire answered, “Just shooting this off the cuff, but I believe a simple retweet, without comment, is typically not republication, whereas a quote tweet typically would be.”
Just shooting this off the cuff, but I believe a simple retweet, without comment, is typically not republication, whereas a quote tweet typically would be.
— Legal Mindset (@TheLegalMindset) March 27, 2024
What do you make of Black Girl Gamers threatening legal action against That Park Place?
That Park Place has written about this public interest story involving public entities as part of good-faith journalistic efforts. That Park Place, at time of publication and to the best of our knowledge, has never received any request for edit, redaction, modification or deletion of articles mentioned in this piece. We strive for accuracy within our coverage, even when we are opining in public appearance perceptions.
The black lady doth protest too much. This is how you know they are telling the truth – threatening you with a lawsuit to take down the article, which even in its original title said “appears”, so nothing unfactual was stated.
They’re not very good at bluffing, are they?
Big! 👏🏻 mistake! 👏🏻
The best thing is her actions may bring more light to her company’s hiring practices, the worst that’ll happen is you gain some subscribers, all in all, not bad!
Check out current and ex-BGG employees on LinkedIn