Blizzard banned a pro player of the card game Hearthone from esports for a year: Jon “Orange” Westberg (28) now feels like his life is falling apart. Something from 2022 is catching up with him that he did 4 years ago: He sexually harassed a woman while drunk, keeping the act a secret in public. Now it’s coming to light and everything seems over. The public reaction is devastating. His friends are turning away from him – “rightly so,” Westberg thinks.
Who is Hearthstone pro Oange?
- The Swede Jon “Orange” Westberg has been a well-known Hearthstone player for 5 years. He has won a total of $309,000 in prizes at 67 tournaments (via esportsearnings).
- His best year was in 2017 when he was 23: He finished second in two major Hearthstone tournaments and earned $110,000 just from those two second places. Like many other Hearthstone pros, Westberg originally comes from the card game Magic: The Gathering.
- Westberg is also a Twitch streamer with about 60,000 followers. Hearthstone used to be really big on Twitch: In 2016, it was the fourth-largest game, but since then it has shrunk a bit and is now ranked 19th among games with average viewers on Twitch.
Blizzard bans pro for a year from esports in Hearthstone
This is now the decision: As Westberg announced on May 17, he was banned for a year from esports in Hearthstone by Blizzard. Westberg said this occurred due to a “mistake from the past”; for which he takes full responsibility.
He stated he was not informed beforehand that he was under scrutiny and that an investigation by Blizzard was underway against him.
The pro said: The decision completely devastates him. He needs time to process it. Until then, he asks people to refrain from speculation.
Blizzard did not want to comment further. However, it seems clear that Westberg was indeed banned for the “mistake from the past” that he himself admits.
Reached under the bra of a sleeping woman while drunk
What was this mistake? Based on a Swedish website that keeps court records (via lexbase), the site PC Gamer discovered that Westberg was charged with rape and sexual harassment in 2018.
The plaintiff said she had spent a night drinking with Westberg and two friends, and Westberg had imposed himself on her while she was sleeping.
Westberg admitted that he had put a hand under her bra but denied that he had laid on her or forced a hand into her pants.
The court decided to dismiss the rape charge due to lack of evidence, and the statements from both parties were considered credible. Furthermore, it was noted that the memories were apparently blurred because both had drunk so much that they vomited.
However, the charge of sexual harassment was upheld. The court ruled: Westberg had no reason to believe that the drunk and sleeping victim would be interested in sexual acts.
Pro says he was at the lowest point in his life back then and has changed since
How does Westberg react? He addressed his situation in a long post on Twitter, trying to explain his circumstances (via Twitter). People saw him in a completely different light after the revelations. Because the entire incident had been known to very few people until then: his parents, his therapist, and only a few others:
Before yesterday, I could count the people I told on two hands, and even with those it was very hard for me to share all the details and to share the fear of being abandoned, something I know is unfair to them.
Westberg now explains why he never spoke out in the years prior and why he never apologized to the victim.
He says he was in an extremely difficult situation back then, was depressed, and spent the last years working on himself to ensure that something like this does not happen again. That took a long time. He went through therapy and moved back in with his parents.
Before the incident, my life was heading towards a low point. I had a lot of issues with my mental and emotional health, but instead of seeking therapy, I turned to self-destructive behaviors.
I never intended to hurt others, but various deep-seated issues alongside those behaviors led me to hurt someone immensely, and that’s what I regret the most in my life.
Westberg repeatedly emphasizes that he does not want to portray himself as a victim and wants to take full responsibility for his actions. He also expresses regret that this incident may now harm traumatized victims.
Westberg acknowledges that some of his recent statements, where he took the side of women, might now seem hypocritical, but he has truly changed and turned his life around for the better.
With the ban from Hearthstone, a life he had built for 8 years is now collapsing. Just as he qualified for tournaments: He is now stepping back from the scene.
Even though I haven’t shared everything from my life, I have honestly tried to do something good for the community that has been my whole life for the last 8 years.
Hearthstone community responds critically
This is the reaction: The response from the Hearthstone community is quite negative. Because in the eyes of Hearthstone players, there is a big difference between coming forward to apologize or to justify oneself after being caught.
The former Hearthstone commentator Songbird says (via twitter):
“One can take responsibility for one’s actions, and one can take responsibility because one has been caught. The second felt insincere.”
A stalwart in Hearthstone, Frodan, says (via twitter):
“He kept it secret for 4 years while profiting from his streaming career. He can change and be forgiven. But he will never be welcome again.”
Westberg himself announces that he will take a radical step (via twitter):
By the end of the day, I will delete all my social media accounts. Watching all my friends turn away from me and having people wish me dead is now too much. Thank you for the time we spent together.
Again and again, esports athletes are haunted by actions they committed in their past:
Twitch streamer becomes pro in Valorant for top team, fired 3 days later
