Five former Ring Boys have accused Vince McMahon, his wife Linda McMahon, and the WWE of knowing about and failing to stop a ringside announcer/ring crew chief from sexually exploiting them, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The suit, filed in Baltimore County, alleges that the ring crew chief, Melvin Phillips Jr., would hire underaged boys, sometimes as young as 12 years old, to help set up WWE events where they were “groomed, exploited, and sexually abused,” with allegations dating back to the 1980s. Philips died in 2012 and can not be listed as a defendant.
WWE co-founder Vince McMahon and his wife, as well as the WWE and its parent company, TKO Holdings, were listed as defendants and are accused of allowing “open, rampant abuse” toward the boys, whom Philips would source from broken homes.
“The WWE and McMahons had a responsibility to these underaged boys, and they failed them in the worst way possible,” Mark DiCello, the plaintiffs’ representative, said in a statement. “We will vigorously fight to uncover the truth about this systemic, insidious, and life-altering abuse.”
The suit alleges that after accusations were made against Phillips, Vince McMahon fired him in 1988 only to rehire him six weeks later under the condition that he “steer away from kids.”
“He did not, and they knew it,” the suit finalizes.
Allegedly, Phillips “lured and manipulated the young boys with promises of meeting famous wrestlers and attending the highly popular wrestling shows, experiences that were otherwise unattainable for these kids.”
The abuse would happen at wrestling events, hotels, and other venues, including Phillips’s dressing room, where he would abuse victims while filming the assault with a video camera.
The scandal was originally broken by the Miami Herald‘s Alex Marvez in 1992, leading the FBI to investigate claims of sexual abuse toward minors. No criminal charges were filed despite the FBI identifying at least 10 victims, the lawsuit states.
Two of the claimants are from Pennsylvania, two are from Massachusetts, and one is from Florida. They are referred to as John Does in the lawsuit.
The John Does only recently learned of the extent of Vince McMahon’s alleged involvement in the crimes after learning about a lawsuit from former WWE employee Janel Grant, who accused Vince McMahon and former WWE head of talent relations John Laurinaitis of sexually assaulting her, sex trafficking her, and forcing her into a sexual relationship with a wrestler the WWE was trying to sign.
Ann Callis, one of Grant’s attorneys, called Wednesday’s allegations “deeply troubling.”
“Vince McMahon made sexual abuse and human trafficking a hallmark of WWE’s culture for decades,” Callis said in a statement. “Survivors like Janel Grant and other former WWE employees deserve their day in court.”
Vince McMahon resigned from his TKO Group executive chairman position and gave up his spot on the executive board in January amid allegations from four women, including Grant and her lawsuit, that he paid them millions of dollars to conceal his sexual misconduct.
“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said, disputing Grant’s allegations.
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Greg Gutzler, the leader of Wednesday’s litigation, said it was “simply unconscionable” that so many did nothing to stop the abuse despite allegedly knowing about it.
“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,” he said.
