Vince McMahon continues to have a rough years plus following the news of him paying hush money to former WWE employees to cover alleged affairs and sexual misconduct.
It seemed like all of that was behind him after he forced his way back onto the WWE board and basically took back control of his company after retiring due to the optics, but it looks like more possible trouble from those reported incidents are looming.
According to the LATimes.com, Vince could be forced to give up his seat in the company depending on how a federal investigation goes.
Vince allegedly paid roughly $14.6 million to several women that included former WWE employees in an effort to buy their silence stemming from alleged affairs and sexual misconduct from as far back as 2006.
A case of disloyalty
As we mentioned above and was widely reported on, Vince “retired” from the WWE amidst the investigations, but eventually forced his way back onto the board and a group of board members resigned from their positions at the time.
Throughout the years, numerous wrestlers have spoken about how loyal Vince can be if you tow the line, but there’s also been a reported dark side to his loyalty as well.
As reported in the LA Times, former WWE board member Ignace Lahoud resigned when Vince returned, and was reported as saying: “It wasn’t aligned with my way of seeing what governance is and there was a misalignment with what my values are.”
And on the topic of Vince stepping down, he added:
“He said, ‘OK, do whatever you guys need to do. I’m not going to stand in your way.’ Of course, when the board said, ‘Well, you know, we think you need to step down,’ he wasn’t happy about it, but he did it.”
It’s been reported by those close to the former directors that Vince viewed their investigation as a show of disloyalty despite it being their job to do so.
Forced to step down?
And now with the federal government becoming involved, a grand jury signed a subpoena to Vince on July 17 and a search warrant was served, but no charges were filed as yet.
Jacob Frenkel is the Chair of Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations & Securities Enforcement Practice Group and he told the LA Times that Vince could potentially face criminal or civil liabilities and they could force him out of the WWE.
“Depending on the potential findings following the inquiry into Vince McMahon, McMahon could face criminal and/or civil liabilities that could prevent him from serving as an officer or director of a public company.”
That would be a huge blow to Vince who has faced a great deal of heat over this time as the owner of the WWE, including the infamous steroid trial. So far he’s gone unscathed, but with this investigation ongoing there’s no telling what’s to come.
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