USA Cricket (USAC) has declared bankruptcy ahead of a hearing in its dispute with American Cricket Enterprises (ACE).
With its Chapter 11 filing, USAC becomes the world’s first ICC member to declare bankruptcy. Earlier, there were indications that chairperson Venu Pisike was considering filing for bankruptcy.
As a result, the USAC’s approach has halted the legal proceedings in the subject at hand. According to claims in numerous media outlets, an ACE official accused USAC of having no intention of improving its cricket or the players in the squad, and also accused the body of being motivated by political incentives.
“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 US. USAC has zero regard for the best interests of cricket and its players, and is only motivated by politics and its directors’ personal agendas”, stated an ACE representative.
The schedule for the bankruptcy provides a preliminary look at USAC’s source of funds which are bank cash, accounts receivable, office equipment and other small assets which are listed. The unsecured claims have a total of around just over half a million dollars.
It has also been reported that the board governing USAC refused to resign. The requests have been repeatedly coming in from the ICC and USOPC’s end. This is to enable smooth passage for the reforms of government and cash flows being re-placed from the global administrative body.
When it comes to the players, this is surely a concerning outcome. Payments under the contracts could have been delayed or renegotiated. However, they will now be in the hands of the decision-makers at court. The fight for injunction with the ACE will put a pause on the cricketing board’s pending bankruptcy proceedings. This, in turn, will shift key decisions from the Colorado court to the federal bankruptcy court.
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