Vince McMahon accused of allowing ‘rampant’ sex abuse of underage ‘ring boys’
Global News
It's the most recent lawsuit brought against an embattled Vince McMahon.
Vince McMahon is facing yet another lawsuit, this time from five former “ring boys” who claim the wrestling mogul did nothing to stop them from being exploited and sexually abused when they worked as underage employees for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
The lawsuit, filed anonymously in Maryland court this week against McMahon, his wife Linda, WWE and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, contains accusations that the parties allowed “open, rampant abuse” of ring boys as young as 12, who worked alongside announcer Melvin Phillips Jr. in the 1980s and 1990s.
Phillips, who died in 2012, is the alleged perpetrator of the abuse, and the lawsuit claims he groomed and abused young boys after recruiting them to help set up the ring and run errands for WWE’s travelling broadcast.
“Phillips’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.”
The law firm representing the accusers said Phillips targeted children from broken homes, but that the abuse occurred “in plain sight,” often in wrestling venues and hotel rooms while on tour.
“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, a partner at DiCello Levitt, said in a press release shared by wrestling reporter Brandon Thurston.
Jessica Rosenberg, a lawyer for McMahon, told USA Today that the allegations are “false claims” and stem from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick’s reporting of the alleged abuse 32 years ago.
