The XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back on April 13, and within days its owner Vince McMahon found himself in a lawsuit. Oliver Luck, the former commissioner of the league during its returning 2020 season, sued for wrongful termination after being fired for cause four days before the bankruptcy fiiling. On Wednesday the details of the lawsuit came to light via court filings retrieved by the Sports Business Journal, giving more details on both ends.
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Luck is claiming in the lawsuit that McMahon breached their contract for firing him, with his legal team calling the firing “a weak and pretextual attempt to avoid the lawful contractual obligations.” McMahon’s attorneys have responded with three reasons for the filing — “gross neglect” during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, signing former Browns receiver Antonio Callaway despite McMahon’s claims that the league would not associate with players with former legal issues and personal use of a league-issued cell phone.
By “gross neglect,” McMahon is claiming Luck “effectively abandoned his responsibilities” by relocationg from the XFL offices in Stamford to his home in Indiana. Luck claims he wasn’t able to return to XFL Headquarters because of Connecticut’s state-wide stay-at-home order.
McMahon is also claiming Luck was negligent “in obtaining venues for the XFL to locate teams and in connection with the negotiation of term sheets and venue agreements.”
Luck is seeking $23.8 million from the lawsuit.
“Oliver is thrilled that this can all be aired in the court of public opinion, because his position is that he was wrongfully terminated,” Paul Dobrowski, one of Luck’s attorneys, told ESPN.
Shortly after the XFL was shut down, McMahon’s other business venture — the WWE — announced a series of cost-cutting measures that saw its move to a new headquarters building get delayed while a sizeable chunk of its staff was either fired or furloughed. That included releasing more than 30 active wrestlers beginning on April 15, including Rusev, Zack Ryder, EC3, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
WWE has been forced to operate out of the WWE Performance Center since mid-April, producing every episode of television and two pay-per-views (including WrestleMania 36) without any fans in attendance.
