THE CRISIS IN USA Cricket has deepened, with the USAC initiating bankruptcy proceedings on Wednesday, the move coming close on the heels of the decision by the ICC board to suspend the crisis-ridden body.
The ICC suspended USAC on September 23 for “serious breaches of membership criteria”.
Pertinently, USAC, which is facing mounting financial strain and deepening conflicts with its erstwhile commercial partner, the Times Group-backed American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), claimed its actions were an “aggressive” and “legal” move, made necessary to “ensure the future of American cricket”.
Per Cricbuzz, USAC’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on Wednesday came shortly before its scheduled preliminary-injunction hearing in its dispute with ACE. In the Colorado case brought by ACE against USAC, USAC’s counsel simultaneously notified the court of the bankruptcy just minutes before the hearing was set to begin, a step that pauses the hearings.
ACE condemned the act and the timing. “USAC could not bear for the preliminary injunction hearing to even begin, and knew the result was a forgone conclusion: it had no basis to terminate the parties’ agreement and was recklessly imperiling the success of cricket in the U.S. USAC has zero regard for the best interests of cricket and its players, and is only motivated by politics and its directors’ personal agendas”, an ACE representative stated to the cricket platform (which is owned by the Times Group it bears noting).
However, USAC chief executive officer Johnathan Atkeison stated in a media release that one of their motives behind the financial restructuring was to also address the ICC suspension. “The decision was not made lightly, but it is the best course of action to secure USA Cricket, and allow it the time and space it needs to successfully reorganize,” the release quotes Atkeison as having stated.
On August 21, the USAC said it was terminating its contract with ACE, who responded by saying the decision was “unlawful” and in September decided to trigger legal proceedings.
Pisike had told ESPNcricinfo in September that the USAC was open to revoking the termination as long as ACE agreed to renegotiate the contract on fresh terms.
USAC claimed in its release that ACE attempted to “bully and coerce” it into “submission” using its “financial might”, eventually forcing its hand to file for bankruptcy. “We have been forced into the protections of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court because ACE is well aware of its stature as an 800lb gorilla and has weaponized its financial muscle to frustrate our ability to govern the sport,” Corey MacDonald, USA Cricket General Counsel, stated in the release.
