Tag: ring boy lawsuit

Judge rules against McMahons, allows ring boy plaintiffs to stay anonymous for now

Posted on by Joseph Currier

For at least the pre-trial period, plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit related to WWE’s ring boy scandal will be allowed to stay anonymous.

Post Wrestling reports that James K. Bredar, a federal judge in Maryland, is allowing the ring boy plaintiffs to maintain their “John Doe” pseudonyms, rejecting efforts from Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon to have their names publicly revealed. The ruling will hold for the pre-trial period but could change once the lawsuit goes to trial.

The lawsuit was first filed in 2024 and lists the two McMahons, WWE, and TKO as defendants. WWE and TKO did not take a stance on whether the plaintiffs should be forced to have their names revealed.

This lawsuit concerns WWE’s ring boy scandal of the 1980s/1990s, where former ring announcer Mel Phillips is accused of having recruited teenagers to the ring crew for the purpose of sexually abusing them. One of the plaintiffs is also claiming to have been abused by Pat Patterson. Phillips and Patterson passed away in 2012 and 2020.

Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, WWE, and TKO are being sued for negligence over their handling of the scandal and not protecting the ring boys from being abused.

There are eight plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit. In this matter, they argued that revealing their identities would “re-traumatize” them by publicly exposing the abuse they endured and even revealing it to people in their lives they have not told. Their identities are known to the defendants who are being sued.

McMahons file oppositions against plaintiffs’ anonymity in ‘ring boy’ lawsuit

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Vince & Linda McMahon have filed oppositions against plaintiffs’ requests to keep their anonymity in the ongoing ring boy lawsuit.

According to Brandon Thurston of Post Wrestling, the McMahons are asking a federal judge to require the plaintiffs to litigate under their real names, arguing that the anonymity hurts their ability to defend themselves. The plaintiffs earlier this month had filed a motion to continue allowing them to use ‘John Doe’ pseudonyms.

In their arguments, lawyers for both Vince and Linda McMahon cited recent cases involving Sean Combs and Kevin Spacey where plaintiffs were required to use their names during proceedings, although those cases were in New York whereas the ring boy lawsuit is taking place in Maryland, which isn’t required to follow those precedents. The McMahon’s attorneys have also brought up the potential for limited confidentiality orders. The plaintiffs have until February 6 to respond to the oppositions.

The lawsuit against the McMahons, WWE, and TKO was filed back in October of 2024, accusing the McMahons of knowing and doing nothing to prevent Mel Phillips from sexually assaulting underage boys in the 80s and early 90s. The case was held up as the Maryland Supreme Court considered the legality of the law that allowed plaintiffs to sue. The case was allowed to continue when the court ruled in October that the law was constitutional.

‘Ring boy’ lawsuit against WWE & McMahons will continue but with changes

Posted on by Josh Nason

A judge has ruled that the ongoing lawsuit stemming from former WWF ring boys being sexually assaulted in the 1980s and early 1990s by a ring announcer will continue.

However, there are some changes to the lawsuit itself according to Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston who reported the news on X.

Filed in October, the lawsuit accuses Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, TKO and WWE of kboth nowing and ultimately doing nothing to to prevent Mel Phillips’ sexual assault of underage boys. Phillips, who has since died, was fired by WWE in 1992 after the allegations became public.

Longtime WWE official Pat Patterson and former WWE wrestler Koko B. Ware have also been named as the list of plaintiffs has grown to eight people over time.

There have been efforts on the defendants’ side to get the case thrown out, but to no avail.

According to Thurston, Judge James Bredar of the U.S. District Court in Maryland via a ruling and 48-page opinion, has ordered the case to continue but with separation on who the plaintiffs have claims against.

“The defendants had asked the court to dismiss all the claims for lack of jurisdiction among other reasons. This ruling narrowly rejects that motion. The defendants’ filings up to this point nor the judge have responded yet to the merits of the ring boys’ claims of abuse,” Thurston wrote.

One plaintiff — John Doe 7 — is no longer involved following the ruling as his claims have been “dismissed without prejudice” which means their case can refiled at a later date but within the statute of limitations if new evidence emerges or other factors.

John Does 2 and 6’s claims remain against Linda McMahon while the rest remain against Vince McMahon and WWE/TKO.

Three new plaintiffs join ‘ring boy scandal’ lawsuit against WWE, McMahons

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Three new plaintiffs have joined the lawsuit against WWE and The McMahons.

Post Wrestling reported on Monday that the former ring boys filing the suit against WWE, TKO and Vince & Linda McMahon have provided further details regarding the defendant’s alleged failure to report sexual abuse. The filing includes allegations from three additional plaintiffs that allege abuse not only by former ring announcer and road crew member Mel Phillips, but also from longtime WWE official Pat Patterson and former WWE wrestler Koko B. Ware.

John Doe 6, a Missisippi resident, alleges that he met Phillips around 1988 when he was 11 or 12 years old. After a house show on July 14, 1989 in Baltimore he was told that he needed to stay in Patterson’s hotel room while other boys stayed in Phillips’ room. It was there that Doe 6 alleges that he was given alcohol as Patterson played pornography on the television. Patterson then allegedly proceeded to perform sexual acts on Doe 6.

He said he was also sexually abused by Phillips after a July 21, 1992 event in Portland, Maine. This was after Phillips’ reported exit from the WWE in March of 1992.

In a separate incident that took place in Portland, Maine, Doe 6 alleges that Ware pushed his head against a wall and patted him down, grabbing him by the crotch with other witnesses present including Phillips, Patterson, Tony Chimel, and referee Danny Davis, with only Chimel telling Ware to let go. Ware did not immediately respond to Post Wrestling for comment.

John Doe 7 says he was around 14 or 15 years old when he met Phillips in 1974. He says he was abused by Phillips in Baltimore, Maryland during his work as a ring boy, including forced oral sex. Doe 7 also said abuse happened away from WWE events and Phillips sometimes recorded the abuse with a video camera.

John Doe 8 met Phillips when he was around 15 years old in Baltimore back in 1982 while he was working concessions at the Baltimore Civic Center. Before a April 10, 1982 WWE event Doe 8 alleges that Phillips told he and another boy were told to get undressed at a hotel room. Doe 8 says Phillips then proceeded to put the boys’ feet on his crotch to compare sizes while he was aroused. They were also offered cocaine and pills.

Linda McMahon filed a motion earlier this month to dismiss the lawsuit, saying she has no significant connection to the state and never communicated with the then five individuals who originally filed the lawsuit. She also sought to distance herself from Phillips, saying she never personally supervised him while he was employed in WWE. In the amended suit, the ring boys outlined times when they interacted with or were in the presence of Vince & Linda McMahon.

Linda McMahon files motion to dismiss ring boy lawsuit

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Linda McMahon is attempting to dismiss the ring boy lawsuit.

According to Post Wrestling, McMahon filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Monday. Her attorneys argued that she has no significant connection to the state where the suit was filed, Maryland, only briefly renting an apartment in the state from 1970 to 1972 and may have briefly held a wrestling license in Maryland back in 2004.

The filing also says that she has never communicated or met the five individuals who filed the lawsuit. Last week, Judge James K. Bredar approved an order allowing the defendants (Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, TKO, and WWE) to receive information about the anonymous individuals including their names, birth dates, and their current addresses.

“Until this lawsuit, I was unaware of their allegations against me or anyone else named in the complaint,” she states in a written decleration.

She also distanced herself from having any responsibility for Mel Phillips’ actions.

“I never personally supervised Phillips while he was employed by WWE, nor did I direct his activities,” she wrote. “Phillips never acted as my agent. If Phillips traveled to Maryland and committed acts of sexual abuse while in Maryland, it was certainly not at my direction nor with my knowledge.”

“I never personally employed any ‘Ring Boys,’ as that term is defined in the Complaint,” she further added.

Filed last October, the lawsuit accuses the defendants of knowing and ultimately doing nothing to to prevent ring announcer and head of ring crew Mel Phillips’ sexual assault of underage boys. Phillips was fired by WWE in 1992 after allegations became public. 

The suit was briefly delayed in December as the Maryland Supreme Court decided if the law that allowed the lawsuit, the Maryland Child Victims Act, was constitutional. The case moved forward after the court allowed the law to remain in place.