• by Ray Schultz , March 26, 2024

Ross Levinsohn, who was fired from his job as CEO by The Arena Group, former Sports Illustrated licensee, has filed a lawsuit, saying that he is owed more than $40 million. 

The firing was engineered by Manoj Bhargava, majority owner of The Arena Group, whom the complaint calls “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the suit alleges, according to The Wrap, quoting Business Insider. 

Levinsohn, who claims he was never told why he was fired, departed last December and was replaced by Bhargava, who had invested $100 million in The Arena Group. 

Earlier, two other senior executives were let go – Andrew Kraft, COO, and Rob Barrett, president of media.

Prior to this, Sports Illustrated was embroiled in a scandal over use of AI-generated content.

But the suit alleges that Levinsohn was sacked after he “attempted to thwart Bhargava’s illegal misconduct, overt self-dealing and systematic destruction of shareholder value.”

The Arena Group’s license to produce Sports Illustrated was suspended by owner Authentic Brands Group in January when The Arena Group failed to make a $3.75 million quarterly payment. Last week, Authentic awarded the publishing rights to Minute Media. 

The suit is on file with the Los Angeles Superior Court.