WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his legal department are striking back with “Ruthless Aggression”, so to speak. Oliver Luck filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon for wrongful termination, but Vince has fired back! The Sports Business Daily is reporting that Vince fired Oliver Luck before the XFL closure due to “gross neglect”.
Earlier today, details and statements were filed in the federal court in Connecticut. Oliver is suing Vince for breach of contract after being released before his contractual release on April 9th, 2020. The XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just four days later on April 13th.
Vince’s lawyers are saying that Oliver Luck showed “gross neglect” during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and for personal use of his iPhone, signing former NFL player Antonio Callaway in spite of McMahon issuing an order to avoid signing any players who had legal issues in the past.
The following court document reads as follows:
“Luck left the XFL’s Connecticut HQ for his home in Indiana on March 13 and “disengage[d] from the XFL’s operations,” according to the filing. McMahon further claims Luck did not inform him of his intentions. “Put simply, at the very moment when his leadership as CEO was needed most, Luck did not devote substantially all of his business time to the XFL, as required by his contract.”
Luck signed Callaway, a former Browns WR, to a draft contract promising a $125,000 signing bonus without informing McMahon, even though he was aware that McMahon asked for final approval rights to any player with a questionable background. The filing continues on that “Luck failed to promptly terminate Callaway in accordance with McMahon’s instructions,” and then Callaway injured his knee in a Tampa Bay Vipers practice, which triggered medical costs and worker’s compensation costs for the startup. “The cost to the XFL of this episode of gross negligence was in excess of six figures,” McMahon’s filing reads.
Luck used his league-issued iPhone for personal matters.
Additionally, in the new court filings made today, Vince McMahon reportedly acknowledged that he made personal guarantee for XFL parent company Alpha Entertainment’s contract with Oliver Luck. It’s that same guarantee which is giving Luck a legal basis to file a lawsuit against McMahon rather than try and appeal to the U.S. bankruptcy court that’s overseeing the XFL case. If McMahon’s legal counsel can prove that Luck’s termination was valid, the contract guarantee will be legally moot.”
Oliver Luck’s guaranteed contract included a $5 million annual salary and a $2 million annual.
