According to an editorial posted by Rugby Wrap Up, United World Sports is suing USA Rugby.

This was confirmed through a statement issued by USA Rugby, and is about, at the heart of it, the future of the USA 7s rugby tournament.

United World Sports has held the rights to the USA 7s since 2006, when A. Jon Prusmack bought the rights from USA Rugby. The tournament, at the time, was played in the Los Angeles area and was losing money. Prusmack and his team moved the event to San Diego, where it grew in size and profile, and then to Las Vegas, where its size and scope exploded.

But there have been rumblings over the years about the tournament, voiced by USA Rugby and World Rugby executives, that the USA 7s isn't quite what it could be. The venue is not ideal—little cover for the fans, a narrow field, and located 30 minutes from the Las Vegas strip.

The accommodations, while lavish in a Las Vegas style, provide problems for the teams—they have stayed in hotels where smoking and gambling is permitted, or encouraged, for example. 

Of course, those rumbling didn't have to figure out how to pay for it all and keep the lights on in the office. United World Sports is a for-profit company that has been taking all the risk in this venture. World Rugby and USA Rugby are membership organizations, with USA Rugby garnering a large chunk of its income from membership dues.

Abrasive Management Style

Meanwhile, the United World Sports executive group has built a reputation as being difficult to work with. Prusmack, who died last in 2018 and is a member of the US Rugby Hall of Fame, wasn't immune from that characterization, but UWS CEO Jonathan First is the usual target when anyone says UWS isn't fun to negotiate with.

First is a tough negotiator, and several sources have, off the record, accused him of being abrasive, and in the world of international sports, which is a political world, that has rubbed many the wrong way.

All of this resulted in the very real possibility a few years ago that World Rugby might take the event away from the United States. But UWS kept the event in the country, as World Rugby found it couldn't take the event away from United World Sports and keep it in the USA.

Fast forward to now. Prusmack died of complications from cancer in December. Meanwhile, stories have circulated that United World Sports is looking to duck out of its deal with the city of Las Vegas and Las Vegas Events, and move. That would require some legal wrangling on the part of UWS, for sure. 

Is World Rugby Covetous? 

World Rugby, meanwhile, is looking to take greater control of the Sevens World Series, with naming and sponsorship rights at the top of the list. Generally, National Governing Bodies run the World Series stops, and World Rugby has some leverage over those NGBs and is used to working with them. Working with a private company is something else, entirely.

According to the Rugby Wrapup story (sourced by Stephen Lewis), UWS cited in its lawsuit "misrepresentations and fraudulent promises" by USA Rugby. Whether these promises were in contract form isn't initially clear, but the suit is alleging that USA Rugby is working with World Rugby to somehow wrest control of the USA 7s event from United World Sports.

USA Rugby Speaks, Briefly

There are a few ways that could be accomplished. World Rugby could just voice its dissatisfaction over how the USA 7s is run. Or, with Prusmack dying in 2018, USA Rugby could view the contract with United World Sports (an entity that didn't exist when Prusmack and USA Rugby first struck a deal) ended.

USA Rugby has confirmed that there is a legal issue ongoing, as it released this statement: "Given the circumstance is a legal proceeding, USA Rugby will appropriately refrain from further comment at this time. The organization however is openly compliant with all parties involved to address the matter and allow for due process."

Olive Branch Or Supoena?

What is clear is that United World Sports, World Rugby, and USA Rugby probably all want changes made to the USA 7s to help is grow and be better for the fans and the athletes. How they go about it might differ wildly. What is also clear is that Prusmack's passing has shaken the relationships involved.

Jon Prusmack may have been a visionary in how he and his team made the USA 7s successful, but that doesn't mean everything United World Sports does is right. People at UWS have burned plenty of bridges along the way, and it seems they still have the flame.

Editor's note: Alex Goff, who wrote this, worked for Rugby Magazine, a division of United World Sports, from 2007 to 2014.