Former WWE board member talks decision to leave when Vince McMahon returned

[Chris]

A former WWE board member has gone on the record about his decision to resign from the company in the wake of Vince McMahon's return.

Ignace Lahoud had been part of the board's audit committee tasked with investigating the allegations against McMahon. His resignation was revealed in an SEC filing in January with McMahon's return cited as the reason for his departure.

Lahoud recently told the LA Times that he did not feel it was prudent for McMahon to return to WWE considering the allegations against him.

“It wasn’t aligned with my way of seeing what governance is,” Lahoud said, adding, "There was a misalignment with what my values are.”

Another person "close to the board" spoke to the LA Times of McMahon's reaction to hearing the board was launching an investigation into the allegations against him.

“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,” the individual stated.

The investigations into McMahon by the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission are ongoing.

Jacob Frenkel, chair of Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations & Securities Enforcement Practice Group, believes the investigations could lead to McMahon having to step down. Frenkel told the Times that findings could be “much broader than the one company and its one majority shareholder.”

"Depending on the potential findings, McMahon could face criminal and/or civil liabilities that could prevent him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, as well as a clawback of any “ill-gotten gains,” Frenkel said.

Our own Dave Meltzer was also quoted in the LA Times piece. Meltzer says McMahon has grown to feel invincible over the years.

“Once he survived the ‘90s steroid trial and then had his huge business success starting in 1998, he probably figured nothing would be worse,” said Meltzer.

Owen Hart's widow, Martha Hart, was also quoted in the piece. She told the Times that WWE "put profit over the well-being of my husband Owen,” and added, “I doubt much has changed. The WWE has a dark, enduring history.”

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/former-wwe-board-member-vince-mcmahons-return-didnt-align-with-my-values