BALTIMORE (AP) — A new lawsuit accuses the WWE and its founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse within the organization and looking the other 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 regardless of their age or how much time has passed.
The complaint alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, would target young men from disadvantaged backgrounds and hire them as “ring boys” to help with the preparations for wrestling matches. Phillips would then assault them in his dressing room, hotels and even in the wrestlers’ locker room, according to the complaint, which was filed on behalf of five men.
The abuse detailed in the lawsuit occurred over several years during Phillips’ long tenure with the organization, which spanned from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Because of his death, Phillips is not among the named defendants.
Instead, the complaint targets World Wrestling Entertainment founders Vince and Linda McMahon, the husband and wife team who grew the organization into the powerhouse it is today. The couple was well aware of Phillips’ brazen misconduct but did little to stop him, according to the complaint.
“This wasn’t an isolated instance,” said attorney Greg Gutzler, who represents the five unnamed plaintiffs. “There was a culture of abuse and it started at the top.”
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 when they met Phillips.
Gutzler said the plaintiffs finally found the strength to come forward and sue after Vince McMahon resigned from WWE’s parent company TKO Group Holdings earlier this year amid his own sexual misconduct scandal. He resigned in January after a woman who previously worked for WWE filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of serious 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 in the federal lawsuit.
An attorney representing McMahon, Jessica Rosenberg, denied the latest abuse allegations contained in Wednesday’s complaint. 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 untrue and unfounded,” the statement read.
Emails were sent to Linda McMahon and her organization seeking comment.
Attorneys for the other defendants aren’t yet listed in online court records. Emails seeking comment were sent to WWE and TKO Group Holdings.
McMahon was the leader and most recognizable face at WWE for decades. 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 are now held in professional sports stadiums, and the organization has a sizable overseas following.
WWE merged last April with the company 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 use his highly public WWE personality and image to entice local kids,” allowing them to meet famous wrestlers and attend the popular events.
It alleges the McMahons fired Phillips in 1988 because of abuse allegations surfacing around that time, but they rehired him six weeks later.
Linda McMahon, who stepped down as the company’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 year 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 problem within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But it opened the door for legal action against a range of other entities, including the state’s juvenile justice agency.
However, the future of these claims is uncertain because the constitutionality of the law is currently being decided by the Supreme Court of Maryland.