Vince McMahon is fighting back against his former employee. According to USA Today, the former owner of the XFL and chairman of WWE is countersuing Oliver Luck, the XFL commissioner. McMahon claims that Luck defied his orders for hiring personnel and says he abandoned his duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after Luck filed a lawsuit against McMahon for wrongful termination in April.
In the countersuit filed on Thursday, McMahon argues that Luck didn’t listen to him he allowed the Tampa Bay Vipers to sign Antonio Callaway. McMahon says the XFL player pool must include “quality football players with good character,” which McMahon believes Callaway didn’t have. In November 2019, Callaway was suspended for 10 games by the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy. He was also suspended for the 2017 season for facing felony charges of credit card fraud.
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“Luck knowingly and deliberately deceived me – repeatedly – throughout the Callaway situation, which made me question whether I could continue to trust Luck to be the commissioner and CEO of the XFL,” McMahon wrote in the suit. McMahon asks for $572,792.10 from Luck for Callaway’s contract, the worker’s compensation owned to him and Luck’s personal compensation.
In Luck’s lawsuit, he said he was fired before McMahon laid off most of the XFL staff and three days before the league filed for bankruptcy. He “wholly disputes and rejects the allegations outlined in the Termination Letter and contends they are pretextual and devoid of merit,” according to the complaint. Luck was hired to be the commissioner in May 2018 for a deal worth $20 million.
McMahon bought back the XFL last year after playing one season in 2001. The league features eight teams and played five games before shutting everything down due to the pandemic. It was announced in August that Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the XFL with RedBird Capital for $15 million.
“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things — my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” Johnson said in a statement. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”
