Vince McMahon: Oliver Luck deserved to be fired

Oliver Luck was fired as the XFL's commissioner. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Vince McMahon: XFL commissioner Oliver Luck deserved to be fired

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/13/20

The XFL 2.0 suspended operations amid the coronavirus pandemic and eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Commissioner Oliver Luck was fired from his position, and he later sued WWE chairman and XFL owner Vince McMahon for wrongful termination.

McMahon's lawyers responded in court on Wednesday.

As explained by Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, McMahon's legal team cited three specific reasons for why Luck was justifiably fired per the terms of his XFL deal:

In a filing today, Vince McMahon's lawyers claim he fired Oliver Luck for 3 reasons:

*"Gross neglect" of his job during the early days of the pandemic
*Signing Antonio Callaway despite XFL policy against hiring talent with legal troubles
*Personal use of a XFL-issued iPhone
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) May 13, 2020

The first and third points may both be stretches. Competitions around the world have lost millions of dollars due to the pandemic with no immediate end in sight as of May 13. WWE laid off and released handfuls of talent this spring due to the effects of COVID-19. Luck, or any other XFL commissioner, couldn't have saved the league without divine intervention.

The Antonio Callaway matter is interesting. In January 2018, Darren Rovell noted McMahon said the following about future XFL rosters in a story for ESPN:

"If you have any sort of criminal record or commit a crime you aren't playing in this league."

As ESPN's Mark Schlabach noted, Callaway was cleared of sexual assault allegations by the University of Florida in August 2016. However, the wide receiver failed to stay out of trouble. Per ESPN News Services, Florida suspended the wideout for the entire 2017 campaign for his alleged involvement in a stolen credit card scheme and supposed other off-the-field incidents.

Callaway was out of the NFL by November 2019 following multiple violations of the league's substance-abuse policy. He signed with the XFL's Tampa Bay Vipers last January.

Will any of this be enough for McMahon to score a legal pinfall over Luck? We'll see.

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