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Vince McMahon says he's not 'the bad guy' after being accused of manipulating XFL's bankruptcy

Vince McMahon has been accused of manipulating the XFL’s bankruptcy so he can buy the league back at a reduced price without paying its debts.

He insisted that is not the case in a court filing that labels the claims as “inflammatory” and “unsubstantiated.” He also said that he has no intention of buying back the XFL in the filing obtained by ESPN.

‘I’m not going to be a bidder’

“I don't know why that's out there, making me out to be the bad guy, [that] I'm going to buy the XFL back for pennies on the dollar, basically,” McMahon said in a deposition noted in the filing. “That helped me move into the direction of, ‘I'm not going to be a bidder, not going to have anything to do with it.’ I do hope that someone will pay a lot of money for it, and I do hope that it will survive.”

Vince McMahon is accused of maneuvering to buy back the XFL at a reduced price without paying its debts. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Vince McMahon is accused of maneuvering to buy back the XFL at a reduced price without paying its debts. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The XFL filed for bankruptcy on April 13, three days after it suspended operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The second iteration of the professional football league made it through five weeks of play before its return season was canceled on March 20. McMahon, the WWE CEO, was the league’s controlling owner.

McMahon accused of seeking ‘fire-sale’ price

Some of the XFL’s creditors accused McMahon of maneuvering to buy back the league at a “fire-sale price” in court filings last week obtained by The Athletic. The creditors objected to the XFL’s decision to pay back ticket holders for games not played after the bankruptcy filing, implying that the only reason to do so would be to ingratiate goodwill between McMahon and fans in the case of a potential return.

“The … bid procedures are designed to ensure that McMahon can acquire the debtor at a fire-sale price with third parties having little or no meaningful opportunity to do the diligence required to ensure a fair process,” the filing read.

McMahon admitted in Tuesday’s court filing that he did initially reserve his right to make a bid, but was swayed against doing so by last week’s court filings.

“I think I was trying to make up my mind,” McMahon said.

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