5 'Ring Boys' Say McMahon, WWE Allowed Sexual Abuse

A WWE ring announcer sexually abused five boys whom he "lured" decades ago with the promise of meeting wrestling stars, according to a lawsuit, which claims the WWE and founder Vince McMahon were "fully aware" of the abuse and "did nothing to prevent or stop it." The suit alleges McMahon and wife Linda had long known of announcer Melvin Phillips Jr.'s "unnatural interest" in young boys. The complaint claims McMahon, subject of a federal sex-trafficking investigation, fired Phillips in 1988, then welcomed him back weeks later on the condition that he stay away from kids. "He did not, and they knew it," reads the suit filed against the McMahons, the WWE, and parent company TKO Holdings, per NBC News.

The defendants allowed the "open, rampant abuse" of the plaintiffs, who were 12 and 13 when they acted as assistants to Phillips in the 1980s and '90s, the suit claims. The plaintiffs hailing from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Florida, say Phillips hired them to assist in preparing for WWE events, promising chances to meet with WWE stars, then groomed and sexually assaulted them at wrestling events and hotels. The suit claims some assaults were filmed, while others occurred in "plain sight" of wrestlers and WWE executives, per USA Today. One plaintiff says Phillips touched his genitals during their first encounter outside a WWE event, saying, "I can get you in. I work here," per the New York Post.

Phillips, accused of targeting children "from broken homes," died in 2012. "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," says the plaintiffs' lead attorney Greg Gutzler in a statement. The suit stems from journalist Phil Mushnick's 1992 reporting on Phillips' alleged abuse of the "ring boys" for the New York Post. Mushnick quoted McMahon as saying he and his wife knew Phillips had a "peculiar and unnatural interest" in boys. But "those allegations were never proven," says McMahon attorney Jessica Rosenberg. This suit's claims "rely on these same absurd, defamatory, and utterly meritless statements." (More WWE stories.)