The XFL 2.0 recently folded in large part due to the COVID-19 situation, but founder Vince McMahon apparently feels that a larger portion of the blame deserves to be on the shoulders of the league’s commissioner. McMahon fired commissioner Oliver Luck before the league folded. This led to a lawsuit being filed by Luck for wrongful termination.
At this point in the process, McMahon has stated to the U.S. District Court of Connecticut that he did in fact have a list of justifiable reasons to fire their commissioner. The biggest reason is his handling of the COVID-19 situation, but a surprising reason that was listed was the league’s signing of former Cleveland Browns receiver, Antonio Callaway.
McMahon made a point of claiming that the XFL would not sign players with checkered pasts. The WWE chairman is stating that Luck never informed him of Callaway’s past before signing him to a pretty large — by league standards — $125,000 bonus. To make matters worse, after Callaway was signed and allocated by the Tampa Bay Vipers, he immediately suffered an ACL tear before the first game. This resulted in even more funds being spent due to surgery and medical payments.
The Browns drafted the troubled Florida wide receiver in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. This was one of the more interesting selections of that class. Callaway had more talent than his draft slot would indicate, but due to a plethora of off-field incidents ranging from sexual assault to drugs was still available in round four.
Former Cleveland GM John Dorsey was the brains behind the selection of Callaway and at first, the controversial pick paid off. Callaway quickly snagged the No. 3 spot in the receiving corps, but the shine rapidly started to fade. Callaway reported to camp the next season overweight and showed up to numerous meetings late, which led to his eventual release.
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