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New lawsuit alleges sexual abuse of WWE ring boys in Maryland

By LEA SKENE Associated Press

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 as a longtime ringside announcer preyed on young men he hired as “ ring boys’.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Maryland, where a recent law change eliminated the state’s statute of limitations for child abuse claims, opening the doors for victims to file a lawsuit 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 prepare for wrestling matches. Phillips would then attack them in his locker 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 suspects.

Instead, the complaint focuses on 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’ blatant misconduct but did little to stop him, according to the complaint.

“This was not an isolated case,” 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 accusers were all between the ages of 13 and 15 when they met Phillips.

Gutzler said prosecutors finally found the strength to come forward and file a lawsuit 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 photos and videos of her. McMahon had already stepped down as CEO of WWE in 2022 amid an investigation into allegations similar to those in the federal lawsuit.

An attorney representing McMahon, Jessica Rosenberg, denied the latest allegations of abuse in Wednesday’s complaint. In a written statement, she referenced New York Post reporting from the early 1990s and said the recent lawsuit alleges “the same false claims.”

“We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident that the court will find these claims to be untrue and without merit,” the statement said.

Emails were sent to Linda McMahon and her organization seeking comment.

Attorneys for the other defendants are not 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 in WWE for decades. When he bought what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place in small venues and appeared on local cable channels. WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums, and the organization has a significant following abroad.

WWE merged with the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship last April, creating the $21.4 billion sports-entertainment company TKO Group Holdings.

The lawsuit alleges that WWE executives “gave Phillips free rein to use his very public WWE persona and image to entice local children,” allowing them to meet famous wrestlers and attend the popular events.

It is alleged that the McMahons fired Phillips in 1988 due to abuse allegations that surfaced around that time, but rehired him six weeks later.

Linda McMahon, who resigned as the company’s CEO in 2009, later led the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit was filed under a Maryland law that took 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 file lawsuits until they turned 38.

Lawmakers approved the change with the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal in mind after a scathing investigative report exposed the extent 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 juvenile justice agency.

However, the future of these claims is uncertain as the constitutionality of the law is currently being decided by the Maryland Supreme Court.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.