Note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse that may be offensive to some readers or painful to survivors of sexual assault.
Five former ‘ring boys’ who worked with WWE have filed a lawsuit against the company, founder Vince McMahon, his wife Linda McMahon and TKO Group Holdings, alleging negligence for allowing ‘systemic and pervasive abuse’ of underage children.
The complaint and demand for a jury trial was filed on behalf of five John Does in Baltimore County Circuit Court on Wednesday. It alleges the McMahons knew about and failed to stop decades of sexual assault, from the 1970s to early 1990s, perpetuated by former WWE ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr.
The complaint alleges Phillips, who died in 2012, hired underage boys as young as 12 years old to assist the ring crew in preparations for WWE’s shows, then groomed and abused them.
‘Phillip’s real motivation in luring the ring boys with the promise of gaining access to the popular WWE events was to sexually abuse them,’ the suits alleges, ‘And Vince McMahon knew it, admitting that he was aware, at least as early as the 1980s, that Phillips had a ‘peculiar and unnatural interest’ in young boys.’
Jessica Rosenberg, an attorney for McMahon, said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports that the allegations are ‘false claims’ that stem from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick’s reporting of the abuse 32 years ago.
“The negligence claims against Mr. McMahon that were asserted today rely on these same absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless statements by Mr. Mushnick. We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded,’ Rosenberg said.
USA TODAY Sports has reached out to Vince McMahon and TKO Group Holdings for comment.
All of the John Does in the lawsuit recounted their alleged experiences with Phillips, which included multiple instances of sexual abuse at WWE events and in ‘plain sight’ of wrestlers and company executives. They also allege Phillips took boys to his hotel room and filmed sexual encounters.
The complaint alleges McMahon and his wife ‘failed to act even though they knew or should have known’ the risk for sexual harassment by employing Phillips as it was well known in the company, and that McMahon either directly or indirectly provided Phillips with the funds to transport and board the victims.
‘Defendants were fully aware of the systemic and pervasive abuse and did nothing to prevent or stop it,’ the suit reads.
In 1992, Phillips and the then-WWF were under federal investigation for inappropriate sexual relations with underage boys after a former ring boy publicly spoke about the alleged abuse. Phillips was fired by McMahon years prior, but was later re-hired and ordered to stay away from children.
The scandal was covered in the Netflix docuseries ‘Mr. McMahon,’ which also touched on sexual abuse accusations directed at company employees Terry Garvin and Pat Patterson.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in Wednesday’s lawsuit said there are likely countless other victims that were also abused, and the five alleged victims decided to come forward after they ‘recently learned of the depth of knowledge that the McMahons and the WWE had about what happened to them.’
‘Thanks to the bravery of our clients, we finally have a chance to hold accountable those who allowed and enabled the open, rampant sexual abuse of these young boys,’ Greg Gutzler of DiCello Levitt, which is leading the litigation, said in a statement. ‘That so many were aware of the sexual abuse of the Ring Boys and did nothing to prevent or stop it is simply unconscionable.’
McMahon is also facing a lawsuit from a former WWE employee that alleges the wrestling company’s founder took part in sex trafficking and sexual abuse. That case is currently paused because the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting its own investigation.