Vince McMahon Cites 'Gross Neglect' in Firing of Oliver Luck

Lawyers for XFL owner Vince McMahon alleged in new federal court filings that the league fired former commissioner Oliver Luck for showing "gross neglect" at the start of the coronavirus pandemic as well for using a business iPhone for personal matters and signing wide receiver Antonio Callaway despite a league policy against hiring talent with legal troubles, according to Sports Business Journal's Ben Fischer. 

The details were unearthed by the SBJ following recent fillings in federal court in Connecticut, where the league's former commissioner is suing McMahon for breach of contract stemming from his firing on April 9.

In mid-April, Luck filed his lawsuit, where he is seeking unspecified damages, according to The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan. McMahon, WWE's chairman and CEO, relaunched the XFL this year but shut down the league in April due to the pandemic. He hired Luck, the father of former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, as the XFL's commissioner in 2018.

In Luck's original complaint filed against the league, he said he “wholly disputes and rejects the allegations set forth in the Termination Letter and contends they are pretextual and devoid of merit," per the SBJ.

The XFL filed for Chapter 11 on April 13, just days after it suspended operations and laid off more than 400 employees.