WWE chairman and CEO and XFL founder Vince McMahon claims that former XFL CEO Oliver Luck is "stonewalling" in his wrongful termination suit against the league founder by refusing to answer a sheaf of questions regarding his use of a company iPhone, which McMahon and his lawyers claim prove the former league chief was slacking off on the job.

Luck, a former NCAA and NFL executive, was hired as CEO of the XFL, McMahon’s second attempt at creating a rival to the National Football League, in 2018. The league launched on Feb. 8, 2020  but canceled its season on March 12 of that year because of the pandemic. 

The XFL fired Luck on April 9, 2020, a day before the rest of the league's employees were let go, for what they said was cause, claiming Luck’s gross negligence and a willful disregard of the lawful instructions of Mr. McMahon. On April 13, 2020 the XFL filed for bankruptcy protection. Luck sued Alpha Entertainment, the vehicle that officially owned the XFL, and McMahon, who had personally guaranteed his compensation, in federal court in Connecticut on April 16, 2020. 

Last August, the XFL was purchased by a group including former wrestler and current movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, his ex-wife Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital for about $15 million. 

McMahon countersued Luck in January, and in a filing with the court on July 14, claimed that Luck has refused to answer questions related to his use of a company-issued cell phone. That phone is crucial for two reasons: McMahon claims that Luck used the phone for personal use, a violation of company policy, and it also contains text messages and emails that the WWE chief says proves that Luck was not adequately performing his job. 

McMahon's attorneys submitted a 50-page affidavit of questions relating to the cell phone use to the court, primarily asking the former CEO to confirm which emails and texts were sent on every day between March 13 and April 9. According to McMahon's attorneys, Luck's responses have been “evasive.”

Luck apparently has refused to voice his "contentions" regarding each email and text, which McMahon's attorneys believe would help the court differentiate between ones he claims reflect his work for the league and those that do not. 

In the July 14 filing, McMahon and Alpha attorneys allege that by responding to its requests with "baseless objections and evasive responses," Luck is "stonewalling" its efforts to discover what constitutes XFL-related work he has done and to "narrow the scope of disputed issues related to those contentions."

Luck’s attorneys have said many of the questions are burdensome, oppressive and overly broad, according to court filings. In several cases they objected to questions asking whether Luck had sent emails on certain dates because they don’t include about 95 emails sent to or from him that were excluded by McMahon and Alpha Entertainment on grounds of attorney/client privilege. 

McMahon's and Alpha's attorneys say Luck's actions are an attempt to "hide the ball on his position as to the evidence of his XFL and non-XFL work."

The July 14 dispute is just the latest in what has been a series of discovery disputes between the parties. In June, Luck asked to depose the partner in the law firm that headed the investigation that led to his firing. Alpha and McMahon have opposed that motion, which is still pending before the court.

The battle between XFL owner Vince McMahon and Oliver Luck continued to heat up this week, with McMahon claiming his former CEO abandoned his duties as the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the alternative football league’s regular season, used a company-issued iPhone for personal use, and signed troubled players.

Luck, a former NCAA and NFL executive, was hired by McMahon to run the fledgling league in June 2018.  The league launched on Feb. 8, but canceled its season on March 12 because of the pandemic.

On April 9, a day before the rest of the league’s employees were let go,  the XFL fired Luck for what they said was cause, claiming “gross negligence” and a “willful disregard of the lawful instructions of Mr. McMahon” concerning his duties as CEO. The XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 13. 

Luck sued McMahon in Connecticut federal court on April 16, for wrongful termination.

According to an affidavit filed on May 13, Luck claims he is owed no less than $23.8 million, including $800,000 in base salary owed for the remaining two months of the 2020 season, a $2 million guaranteed bonus, $15 million in salary for the remaining three years on his contract and $6 million in guaranteed bonuses for the remaining three years on his employment deal. Luck added that he is also owed additional amounts for benefits through June 30, 2023, according to the contract.

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In the termination letter -- which was filed as an exhibit in Luck’s affidavit -- McMahon and XFL parent Alpha Entertainment claims of “gross negligence” by the former CEO included his decision to sign former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Antonio Callaway to an XFL contract with a “substantial” signing bonus of $125,000. According to the letter, Luck made the signing without permission from McMahon, who had requested he sign off on players with questionable backgrounds. Callaway had past drug use problems (mainly for marijuana) and run-ins with the law.

The letter continued that Luck failed to terminate Callaway immediately, and he was later injured in a practice session with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers, leading to medical and worker’s compensation costs “well in excess of six figures.”

Luck countered that McMahon was well aware of Callaway’s signing, and that the deal was made as part of the XFL owner’s directive to attract higher quality players. Luck added that it was the XFL’s policy to “refrain” from testing for marijuana, and to reject players from the pool that could be drafted only if they had a felony conviction or a conviction for dealing drugs; had multiple misdemeanor convictions establishing a pattern; or if a credible allegation of sexual assault or domestic violence had been made against him.

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“Callaway did not fit into any of those categories and was not disqualified under XFL policies that were in place at the time he was signed to play in the XFL,” Luck claimed in the document.

When McMahon informed Luck during the week of Jan. 26 that he wanted Callaway terminated, Luck said he did just that.

“He [Callaway] never played a down in the XFL,” Luck’s affidavit claims.

McMahon also claimed that Luck “failed to exhibit any of the vigor and work ethic required of a CEO of a start-up enterprise in these trying times,” failing to devote “substantially all of [his] business time to the performance of [his] duties since March 13th, which itself is grossly negligent under the circumstances.”

In his affidavit, Luck said he did return home to Indiana on March 13, but that the league closed its offices on Sunday March 15 and ordered all staff to work from home because of the pandemic. On March 20, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont issued a stay-at-home order in the state, asking all non-essential businesses to have their employees work from home.

As far as the cell phone, McMahon claims that when his lawyers asked Lack to return the iPhone issued to him, he failed to do so. Later, McMahon claims, Luck’s attorneys asked bankruptcy court counsel if there was a company policy about personal use of the phone.

“There was such a policy,” McMahon claims in his filing. “Thus, that phone and its contents are now evidence supporting Luck’s termination for cause.”

According to the suit, McMahon -- who also is the chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder of professional wrestling conglomerate WWE -- personally guaranteed Luck’s compensation. That is likely the reason the former CEO is suing McMahon individually instead of the bankrupt league. 

Oliver Luck, the former NFL quarterback and commissioner and CEO of the XFL, has sued league owner Vince McMahon, claiming wrongful termination.

Luck was hired last year and his pedigree -- he is a former NFL and NCAA executive -- added some needed credibility to the fledgling league.

According to the heavily redacted suit, filed April 16 in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, Luck was terminated by the XFL on April 9, a day before the league laid off the majority of its workforce. On April 13, the XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million. 

Luck reportedly signed a five-year deal worth about $20 million to run the league, and believes he is owed at least a portion of that. In the suit he claims that Alpha Entertainment, the vehicle that officially owns the XFL, “repudiated” his employment agreement. He adds that McMahon sent him a termination letter on April 9, the day before the league laid off most of its workers. 

Although the letter was redacted in the suit, Luck said he “wholly disputes and rejects the allegations set forth in the Termination Letter and contends they are pretextual and devoid of merit,” according to the document

Luck’s suit also comes days after the XFL asked the court to approve a process to sell its assets via an auction tentatively scheduled for July.

McMahon has agreed to provide debtor-in-possession financing of about $3.5 million to get the league through the sales process. That DIP financing is contingent on the court approving the auction sales process by May 15, and finalizing a sale by July 15.

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According to bankruptcy court documents, the auction for the XFL assets -- mainly its name, trademarks and other intellectual property -- could start on July 8.

Just who would buy the assets remains to be seen. While the league enjoyed strong ratings when it launched on Feb. 8, viewership declined steadily in later weeks. Some reports have speculated that the NFL could buy the XFL and run it as an instructional league for new recruits, much like the NBA’s D-league.