A recent lawsuit accuses the WWE and its founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse throughout the organization and looking out the opposite way while a longtime ringside announcer preyed on young men he hired as “ring boys.”
The suit was filed Wednesday in Maryland, where a recent law change eliminated the state’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, opening the doors for victims to sue no matter their age or how much time has passed.
The criticism alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, would goal young men from disadvantaged backgrounds and hire them as “ring boys” to assist with the preparations for wrestling matches. Phillips would then assault them in his dressing room, hotels and even within the wrestlers’ locker room, in accordance with the criticism, which was filed on behalf of 5 men.
The abuse detailed within the lawsuit occurred over several years during Phillips’ long tenure with the organization, which spanned from the Nineteen Seventies to the early Nineteen Nineties. Because of his death, Phillips is just not among the many named defendants.
Instead, the criticism targets World Wrestling Entertainment founders Vince and Linda McMahon, the husband and wife team who grew the organization into the powerhouse it’s today. The couple was well aware of Phillips’ brazen misconduct but did little to stop him, in accordance with the criticism.
“This wasn’t an isolated instance,” said attorney Greg Gutzler, who represents the five unnamed plaintiffs. “There was a culture of abuse and it began at the highest.”
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court, the abuse occurred in several states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs were all between 13 and 15 after they met Phillips.
Gutzler said the plaintiffs finally found the strength to return forward and sue after Vince McMahon resigned from WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings earlier this 12 months amid his own sexual misconduct scandal. He resigned in January after a lady who previously worked for WWE filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of significant misconduct, including offering her to a star wrestler for sex and distributing pornographic pictures and videos of her. McMahon had already stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 during an investigation into allegations that match those within the federal lawsuit.
An attorney representing McMahon, Jessica Rosenberg, denied the newest abuse allegations contained in Wednesday’s criticism. In a written statement, she referenced New York Post reporting from the early ’90s, saying the recent lawsuit asserts “these same false claims.”
“We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are unfaithful and unfounded,” the statement read.
Emails were sent to Linda McMahon and her organization in search of comment.
Attorneys for the opposite defendants aren’t yet listed in online court records. Emails in search of comment were sent to WWE and TKO Group Holdings.
McMahon was the leader and most recognizable face at WWE for a long time. When he purchased what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place at small venues and appeared on local cable channels. WWE matches at the moment are held in skilled sports stadiums, and the organization has a large overseas following.
WWE merged last April with the corporate that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship to create the $21.4 billion sports entertainment company TKO Group Holdings.
The lawsuit alleges that WWE leaders “gave Phillips free rein to make use of his highly public WWE personality and image to entice local kids,” allowing them to fulfill famous wrestlers and attend the favored events.
It alleges the McMahons fired Phillips in 1988 due to abuse allegations surfacing around that point, but they rehired him six weeks later.
Linda McMahon, who stepped down as the corporate’s chief executive in 2009, later led the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit was filed under a Maryland law that went into effect last 12 months after state lawmakers voted to eliminate the statute of limitations for such cases. Before the change, people in Maryland who were sexually abused as children could bring lawsuits up until they turned 38.
Lawmakers approved the change with the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal in mind after a scathing investigative report revealed the scope of the issue throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But it opened the door for legal motion against a variety of other entities, including the state’s juvenile justice agency.
However, the longer term of those claims is uncertain since the constitutionality of the law is currently being decided by the Supreme Court of Maryland.
