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In 2019, AAF chairman Tom Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, suspended all activities for the American Alliance of Football. This was effectively a minor football league. The league was initially founded by the Hurricanes owner and former Buffalo Bills GM Bill Polian.
Now, Dundon is being sued for nearly $185 million.
Why is Tom Dundon being sued with a $185M lawsuit?
The U.S. Trustee overseeing the AAF's bankruptcy alleges that the former AAF owner tanked the football league when there were financial alternatives.
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The Athletic reports that the trustee is suing because the league would still have been around had it not been purposefully tanked:
“Dundon and his associates dealt on their reputation and the league’s trust, which they induced, luring the league into ceding ownership and control, believing Dundon, as Dundon repeatedly told the league and the press, was committed to the League for ‘years to come."
It continued:
"Dundon’s ‘years to come’ lasted only 46 days. Instead of the $250 million financing commitment Dundon had promised, Dundon and his entities used the control they garnered to force the league to liquidate after investing less than $70 million and shut down with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.”
However, according to the Athletic, the Hurricanes owner is countersuing Charlie Ebersol. He maintains that he was misled about the financial state of the league. An email from Ebersol's lawyer disagrees with this:
“It is our belief that the complaint against Mr. Ebersol was filed for the purposes of wrongfully deflecting attention and blame away from the lawsuit filed today by the United States Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee against Thomas Dundon and (his partner) John Zutter for causing damage to the AAF and to all those that were vested in its success.
The email continued:
"The reason why the Bankruptcy Trustee is suing Thomas Dundon, and not Charlie Ebersol, for the demise of the AAF is spelled out in the Trustee’s Complaint in extensive detail, and which otherwise appears to be supported by substantial evidence against Mr. Dundon.”
The lawsuit will be a normal civil suit.
Why did the AAF fail?
The league failed to even finish a single season in 2019 when it started up. Since then, it has not become even the most recent minor league football league. The XFL came and went after it, too.Most minor league football leagues fail and fail quickly.
Ultimately, the AAF league failed because it didn't have as much talent as the NFL. The talent was rounding into form, but the alleged tanking on the owner's part came before it could truly get to that quality
With lawsuits flying thick and fast at the moment, we will see what comes next in the ongoing saga following the league's cessation.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Athletic and H/T Sportskeeda.
