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New lawsuit accuses WWE of child sexual abuse in Maryland

By LEA SKENE Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — A new lawsuit accuses WWE and its founders of fostering a culture of sexual abuse within the organization and looking the other way while 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 statute of limitations on child sexual abuse lawsuits, opening the way for victims to sue regardless of their age or the amount of time that has passed.

The complaint alleges that Melvin Phillips, who died in 2012, targeted young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and hired them as “ring boys” to help prepare for wrestling competitions. Phillips then assaulted them in his locker room, in hotels and even in the wrestlers’ locker room, according to the complaint filed on behalf of the five men.

The abuse described in the lawsuit occurred over several years during Phillips’ long tenure with the organization, which spanned the 1970s to the early 1990s. Because of his death, Phillips is not listed among the defendants.

Instead, the complaint is aimed at World Wrestling Entertainment founders Vince and Linda McMahon, the husband-and-wife team that made the organization the powerhouse it is today. According to the complaint, the couple was well aware of Phillips’ brazen behavior but did little to stop him.

“This was not an isolated incident,” said attorney Greg Hutzler, 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 District Court, the abuse occurred in several states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs were all between 13 and 15 years old when they met Phillips.

Gutzler said the plaintiffs finally found the strength to come forward and file a lawsuit after Vince McMahon resigned from WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings earlier this year amid his own sexual misconduct scandal. He resigned in January after a former WWE employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him of serious wrongdoing, including propositioning her star wrestler for sex and distributing pornographic photos and videos of her. McMahon has already stepped down as WWE CEO in 2022 amid an investigation into allegations that coincide with the allegations in the federal lawsuit.

McMahon’s attorney, Jessica Rosenberg, denied the latest abuse allegations contained in the complaint on Wednesday. In a written statement, she cited a New York Post report from the early 1990s, saying the recent lawsuit supports “the same false allegations.”

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

Emails have been sent to Linda McMahon and her organization for comment.

Attorneys for the other defendants have not yet been listed in online court records. Emails seeking comment were sent to WWE and TKO Group Holdings.

McMahon has been the leader and most recognizable face of WWE for decades. When he purchased the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches were held 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.

Last April, WWE merged with the company that runs the Ultimate Fighting Championship to create the $21.4 billion sports entertainment company TKO Group Holdings.

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

It claims the McMahons fired Phillips in 1988 because of abuse allegations that arose around that time, but they rehired him six weeks later.

Linda McMahon, who stepped down as the company’s chief executive in 2009, later headed the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit was filed under a Maryland law that went into effect last year after state lawmakers voted to end the statute of limitations for such cases. Before the change, people in Maryland who were sexually abused as children could file lawsuits until age 38.

Lawmakers approved the change in light of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandal after a scathing investigative report revealed the extent of the problem in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But it opened the door to lawsuits against a number of other organizations, including the state juvenile justice agency.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this article.