Note: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual abuse of minors.
John Doe 1 was 13 years old when he met Mel Phillips in 1981 or 1982 outside a WWF event, according to a new lawsuit filed in Maryland Circuit Court.
“I can get you in. I work here,” Phillips is alleged to have told Doe 1 to entice him.
John Doe 2 was also 13 when he met Phillips, WWF ring announcer at the time, in 1984 at a WWF show. After talking about wrestling with Doe 2, Phillips allegedly asked the boy for a favor and to follow him into the dressing room.
John Doe 3 was about 14 when he met Phillips in the mid-80s. Phillips asked Doe 3 if he liked wrestling, helped the young teen meet wrestlers, and offered to take him to the Spectrum in Philadelphia for a WWF event, according to the suit.
John Doe 4 was about 14 when he met Phillips in 1983 or 1984.
John Doe 5 was around 15 when he met Phillips around the same time. The ring announcer drove around the Philadelphia neighborhood of Doe 4 and Doe 5 and showed off to kids the WWF championship belts he had in his car, the complaint says.
The former ring boys, now grown men, are kept anonymous in the lawsuit, “because of the highly personal nature of their victimization and because of the serious risk of harm to which they would be exposed if they brought this suit in their actual names.”
They say they were abused by Phillips, who is deceased. They claim that Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon, who were in charge of the WWF at the time, knew that the ring announcer was abusing boys throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Phillips hired crew for the WWF to setup wrestling rings. The plaintiffs also name WWE and its parent company TKO as defendants because the alleged sexual abuse and sex trafficking occurred as part of the company’s business.
Vince McMahon’s attorney Jessica Rosenberg took aim at New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, who wrote about these allegations of wrongdoing around McMahon and the WWF in 1992.
“More than 30 years ago, the columnist Phil Mushnick tried to make headlines with these same false claims,” Rosenberg said in a statement provided to POST Wrestling. “Those allegations were never proven and ultimately became the subject of a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Mushnick.”
“The negligence claims against Mr. McMahon that were asserted today rely on these same absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless statements by Mr. Mushnick,” Rosenberg added. “We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”
Mushnick could not be reached by POST Wrestling for comment, though, the lawsuit filed today notes that the columnist testified under oath that Vince McMahon told Mushnick that McMahon saw Phillips “with young kids all the time.” Mushnick wrote in a 1992 column that McMahon told Mushnick that he fired Phillips in 1988 because McMahon viewed Phillips’ relationship minors was “peculiar and unnatural”, before McMahon rehired Phillips.
Representatives for Janel Grant called the allegations in the new lawsuit “deeply troubling.”
“Vince McMahon made sexual abuse and human trafficking a hallmark of WWE’s culture for decades. Survivors like Janel Grant and other former WWE employees deserve their day in court,” Grant’s attorney Ann Callis said in a statement.
Callis again called for WWE to waive nondisclosure agreements that former employees of the company may be bound to.
“All former WWE employees who experienced sexual abuse and harassment should be allowed to tell the truth by having their nondisclosure agreements waived. Ms. Grant stands by all WWE survivors and believes that Mr. McMahon, WWE, and all involved parties must be held accountable.”
We contacted representatives for WWE and TKO. We’ll update this report if they respond.
John Doe 1
Doe 1 says after he was initially given a front-row seat at a WWF event, where Phillips hugged Doe 1 in a private room, then supposedly by accident, touched his genital area.
Phillips assured Doe 1’s mother that it was safe for the boy to continue hanging out with Phillips. This allegedly led to Phillips bringing Doe 1 to a hotel room. The complaint goes on to describe horrifying scenes of abuse.
Phillips then took off all his clothes except underwear and told John Doe I to take his shirt off. Phillips began suffocating John Doe I and when he protested, Phillips said, something along the lines of, “You’re fine, I’m just doing wrestling moves.” Phillips then began massaging John Doe 1 ‘s legs, told him to take off his socks, and massaged and licked John Doe 1 ‘s feet.
John Doe 1 was shaking, scared, and tried to get dressed, but Phillips would not let him. Phillips did more wrestling moves, told John Doe 1 that he needed to stay, and that they would get ice cream. Later, they went to a restaurant to eat. Phillips then took John Doe 1 home and handed him approximately $80.
The next time WWE came to the Springfield Civic Center, Phillips called John Doe 1 and invited him to the event. John Doe 1 asked if he could bring his cousins, but Phillips said no. Phillips met John Doe 1 outside the arena and hugged him. Phillips then took him and two other young boys inside and introduced them to several wrestlers. Phillips took the three boys around the arena, including the ring area, before taking them to a private room with a bathroom. Phillips took the boys in the bathroom and began hugging them and touching their legs, genitals, and buttocks. Phillips started grinding his genitals on the boys; John Doe 1 could feel that Phillips was aroused. Phillips then gave the boys front row seats next to the announcer’s table where Phillips worked.
John Doe 1 also attended a WWE event with Phillips at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Phillips picked up John Doe 1 outside the Springfield Civic Center and drove to Philadelphia, along with another boy from Boston who was close to John Doe 1’s age. John Doe 1 sat in the front of the car. Phillips was continually touching his leg. At the arena, Phillips took John Doe 1 to a private room where he cornered him, grabbed his genitals, and would not let go. Phillips also bent John Doe 1 over, grinding his genitals on John Doe 1, simulating penetration while saying, “Everything is alright, just listen to me, look where we are.”
Later, in the arena, a wrestler asked John Doe 1 if he was ok. John Doe 1, scared of Phillips, stuttered, “Yeah.” The wrestler asked again. Phillips overheard and told the wrestler that John Doe 1 was his friend, so the wrestler said “Ok, Mel.” After the show, John Doe 1 wanted to go home, but Phillips said they were spending the night. They got on a bus with other WWE workers and the other boy from Boston and went to a hotel. In the room, Phillips took off all his clothes except underwear, made the two boys get naked, and got on top of them. Phillips was aroused and ejaculated on John Doe l’s stomach-Phillips told him to go in the bathroom to clean it up, but John Doe 1 did not know what Phillips meant. Phillips then told him: “The stuff on your stomach.” The other boy was crying.
When John Doe 1 returned to the room, Phillips wrestled the boys more, including grabbing them by the hair, picking them up, and throwing them around-all while still naked. John Doe 1 was terrified. Later, the boys tried to go to sleep, but Phillips continued to touch John Doe 1 by massaging his body including his genitals, buttocks, and feet. Phillips painfully manipulated John Doe l’s feet, and when he said it was painful Phillips then licked them for a long time. The other boy appeared shellshocked, frozen in a chair. The next morning Phillips dropped off John Doe 1 at the Springfield Civic Center, gave him over $150, and said, “Don’t say anything to your parents.” The boy from Boston was still in the car.
Phillips called John Doe 1 regularly. Weeks later, Phillips asked to pick him up at the Springfield Civic Center. John Doe 1 went because he wanted to get out of his house where his home life was stressful. Phillips took him to a restaurant to eat and then drove around. Phillips tried to kiss John Doe 1, told him how good he looked, and said he could help John Doe 1 become a wrestler. Phillips asked if John Doe 1 told his parents anything about the prior trip, and John Doe 1 said he only told them that Phillips took him to cool wrestling events. Phillips then took him to a hotel room where he touched John Doe l’s genitals, forced John Doe 1 to touch Phillips’s own genitals with his mouth and hands, and tried to penetrate John Doe 1. Phillips ejaculated. Phillips later drove John Doe 1 back to the Springfield Civic Center, gave him over $200, and told him again not to tell his parents.
Phillips continued to call John Doe 1 and invited him on a trip to Maryland. Phillips picked him up in a van and they drove to Baltimore. Phillips tried holding John Doe 1 ‘s hand and kept telling him how handsome he was, that he was a good kid, and that he could make him a famous wrestler. At the arena, some of the wrestlers recognized John Doe 1, said hi; a few of the wrestlers asked John Doe 1 if he was okay.
After the show, Phillips took John Doe 1 and three other boys to a hotel where they met other wrestlers. Later, in Phillips’s room, Phillips stripped down to his underwear, told the boys to also do it, and then wrestled them. Then, Phillips got naked, took the boys’ underwear off, and stroked their genitals. Two boys were crying. Phillips then laid the boys down with their backs to him, saying it was a game. He then tried to penetrate the boys. John Doe 1 tried to resist by squirming. Phillips was very aggressive with all four boys, tried to get the boys to touch his own genitals, and ejaculated multiple times. When John Doe 1 was upset, Phillips said, “We’re having fun.” Phillips grinded his genitals on John Doe 1 throughout the night in the bed, and when John Doe 1 would try to put his underwear back on Phillips got angry and forced him to stay naked. The next day, Phillips drove John Doe 1 home.
Thereafter, Phillips continued to call John Doe 1, but he was now very afraid of Phillips and told him he did not want to see him again.
In total, Phillips sexually abused John Doe 1 approximately seven or eight times in a 12-18-month period.
Phillips also gave John Doe 1 alcohol multiple times.
Since Phillips’s sexual abuse of him as a minor, John Doe 1 has suffered from mental and emotional distress.
John Doe 2
After allegedly luring Doe 2 into a dressing room, Phillips began fondling the boy’s feet.
Phillips also put John Doe 2’s feet near Phillips’s genitals; Phillips appeared to be sexually aroused. Phillips also pressed his hands against the buttocks and groin area of John Doe 2.
Phillips did the same things at other wrestling events, including at the Providence Center in Rhode Island where Phillips had his own dressing room. Phillips would also set up a video camera in hotel rooms to record what he was doing, frequently wearing only at-shirt and underwear. Phillips was very aggressive behind closed doors. He would often “wrestle” and fondle John Doe 2 on the feet, buttocks, and crotch for 30 minutes or more. Phillips would clench John Doe 2’s penis between Phillips’s hands. Phillips likely orgasmed during these incidents.
Phillips would often wrestle him to the ground, grasp his two hands together with his arms/forearm on the groin area, and pin him to the ground using his full weight. John Doe 2 would try to squirm away, but Phillips had him pinned so that he was helpless and could barely move. But Phillips would be able to grab and fondle his feet and body, including touching his buttocks, between the legs, and in the groin.
[…]
John Doe 2 witnessed Phillips similarly abuse other young boys.
Phillips often traveled in his own vehicle with the boys while following the WWE ring crew. They would eat together at restaurants and stay with Phillips at hotels. It was common knowledge within the WWE that Phillips was traveling around with young boys and that he had a young boy foot fetish. When backstage at wrestling shows, the boys were sometimes asked by wrestlers and security who they were, and they just had to say, “I’m with Mel Phillips.” WWE wrestlers, security, and other employees often saw the boys helping set up the ring and coming to and leaving the shows with Phillips.
Phillips psychologically manipulated John Doe 2 in an effort to control and dominate him.
John Doe 2 attended numerous wrestling shows with Mel Phillips from approximately 1984-1989, in at least the following states: Maryland (Baltimore), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. John Doe 2 was sexually abused by Phillips in all those states multiple times and was transported across state lines.
After being transported across state lines, Phillips took photos and/or video of the abuse that he inflicted upon John Doe 2.
Since Phillips’s sexual abuse of him as a minor, he has suffered from mental and emotional distress.
John Doe 3
Phillips took Doe 3 to a WWF show in Philadelphia, and they stayed together in a hotel.
Once back in the room, Phillips wrestled him to the ground and started squeezing and twisting his feet to make him submit. While wearing nothing but a small T-shirt and underwear, Phillips then got rougher by pinning him on his back with his legs underneath Phillips with Phillips back facing him Phillips then rubbed his genitals on John Doe 3’s legs and feet until he orgasmed. They then went to sleep in the same bed, and he woke up in the middle of the night with Phillips’s crotch up against his backside. Phillips kept saying, “It’s ok, it’s ok,” and it felt like he ejaculated on him. In the morning, Phillips drove him home and gave him money for helping put together the ring at the show.
Phillips sexually abused him in similar ways at most, if not all, of the subsequent Phillips sexually abused him in similar ways at most, if not all, of the subsequent wrestling shows he attended with Phillips.
[…]
After a few months of attending wrestling shows with Phillips, a wrestler approached John Doe 3 and said to be careful around Phillips.
When traveling in hotels with John Doe 3, as soon as the door shut, Phillips would get on John Doe 3, put him in wrestling holds to submit, pull his feet and twist his toes, and satisfy himself sexually. There were times when Phillips touched John Doe 3 ‘s genitals.
Phillips sometimes gave John Doe 3 “soda” in cups that tasted different than normal soda, and when John Doe 3 asked Phillips about it, Phillips just said, “It’s ok.” John Doe 3 felt light-headed after drinking the “soda” and shortly thereafter Phillips would begin abusing him as described.
John Doe 3 attended at least one dozen wrestling shows with Phillips from around 1984-1987, in at least the following states: Maryland (Baltimore), Pennsylvania, and other states.
John Doe 3 was transported by Phillips across state lines. After being transported across state lines, John Doe 3 was subjected to the abuse described herein, along with Phillips taking photos and/or video of the abuse.
Since Phillips’s sexual abuse of him as a minor, he has suffered from mental and emotional distress.
John Doe 4
Doe 4 also describes Phillips using alcohol to aid in Phillips’ alleged serial exploitation of boys.
Phillips took John Doe 4 to a WWE Event at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. After the event, Phillips plied John Doe 4 and other boys with alcohol and took them to a local motel. John Doe 4 vomited, so Phillips took John Doe 4 into the bathroom and got in the shower with him. Phillips touched John Doe 4’s buttocks and genitals and put John Doe 4’s hand on Phillips’s penis. Phillips held John Doe 4’s arm behind his back and used his hand to stroke Phillips’s penis until he ejaculated. Phillips also tried penetrating John Doe 4.
Phillips also took John Doe 4 and his friends to several WWE shows at the Spectrum. John Doe 4 and his friends worked for Phillips on the ring crew at those events. Several times when the boys arrived at the Spectrum, they simply told security they were meeting Phillips and security let them in.
[…]
At each WWE show at the Spectrum, Phillips “wrestled” John Doe 4 and the other underaged boys, including performing submissions on them such as pinning them on the ground, laying on top of their backsides with his groin in their buttocks, bending their limbs, and twisting and pulling their toes. Phillips jammed his foot into John Doe 4’s inner thigh until it hurt. Phillips also took John Doe 4’s foot and put it on Phillips’s genitals and vice versa.
Phillips often did these things to John Doe 4 and his neighborhood friends in the locker room in full view of wrestlers and Pat Patterson. Everyone joked, “Oh, Mel’s getting your toes.”
Patterson was frequently around the ring crew, and at least once paid John Doe 4 to run an errand for him. Vince McMahon also checked on the ring when John Doe 4 and other ring boys were working on it.
At one WWE event, Joey Marella, a former WWE referee (and son of former wrestler and announcer Gorilla Monsoon), told John Doe 4 and his underaged friends, “Watch out what you’re doing with these people,” referring to Phillips and others in charge of the ring crew.
Phillips drove John Doe 4 and other Ring Boys to WWE events in Pennsylvania multiple times, bought him food, and took him to hotels.
In hotels, Phillips often wore only underwear and forcefully “wrestled” John Doe 4 and other underaged boys who were also not fully clothed.
Phillips also drove John Doe 4 and his underaged friends to WWE events at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and at Madison Square Garden. At a hotel, Phillips gave the underaged boys beer, they became intoxicated, and John Doe 4 passed out. The next day, John Doe 4 noticed blood in his underwear and experienced fecal incontinence, which had not happened to him before.
Confidential Witness #1 ‘s brother ( one of the friends of John Doe 4) told their other sibling that Phillips put things in his rectum. He also said that Phillips-while in his underwear would pin the boys down, lay or sit on top of them, and spread their toes apart. Around that time, he also said to Confidential Witness #1, “It wasn’t my fault.”
John Doe 4 was transported by Phillips across state lines. After being transported across state lines, John Doe 4 was subjected to the harassment and abuse described herein.
Since Phillips’s sexual harassment and abuse of him as a minor, John Doe 4 has suffered from mental and emotional distress.
John Doe 5
Doe 5’s friends also worked on the WWF ring crew with Phillips. Doe 5 alleges he was similarly abused by Phillips. Phillips is said to have brought Doe 5 to a hotel room to “wrestle” and gave the children alcohol.
Phillips also took John Doe 5 to a WWE Event at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. After the event, Phillips plied John Doe 5 and other boys with alcohol Phillips kept in his car, got them drunk, and took them to a local motel. One of John Doe 5’s friends vomited from the alcohol.
At the hotel, Phillips “wrestled” John Doe 5 and the other underaged boys, including performing submissions on them such as pinning them on the ground, laying on top of their backsides with his groin in their buttocks, bending their limbs, and twisting and pulling their toes. Phillips also used his hands to rub John Doe 5’s legs, calves, and thighs. Phillips also took John Doe 5’s foot and put it on Phillips’s genitals. Phillips was aroused.
In hotels, Phillips often wore only underwear and forcefully “wrestled” John Doe 5 and other underaged boys who were also not fully clothed.
John Doe 5 was transported by Phillips across state lines. After being transported across state lines, John Doe 5 was subjected to the harassment and abuse described herein.
Since Phillips’s sexual harassment and abuse of him as a minor, John Doe 5 has suffered from mental and emotional distress.
The lawsuit notes that the allegations in it are “the tip of the iceberg; more revelations will certainly follow in the coming months.” The plaintiffs cite records from an FBI investigation from 1993 that states ten victims of Phillips were identified. Phillips was subpoenaed by a grand jury at the time and indicated he would plead the Fifth Amendment, maintaining his right not to incriminate himself.
The FBI obtained a video tape of Phillips fondling the feet of the boys on the ring crew, but ultimately Phillips wasn’t charged.
FBI records note that “the video tape provided is of little evidentiary value because it was taken in a public setting and contains no obvious sexual activity. Too many alternative explanations could be offered by Phillips for its content.”
“Most problematic,” the FBI document concluded, “is the fact that no alleged ‘victims’ are willing to admit to or describe the sexual nature of their activity with Phillips.”
Attorneys for the former ring boys are suing Vince McMahon and his wife Linda McMahon because, they say, the former WWF executives “knew or should have known about Phillips’s abuse of the Ring Boys.”
When allegations initially surfaced of Phillips’ exploitation of the underage ring crew, in 1988, the ring announcer was fired. But just six weeks later, he was brought back under the condition that he “steer clear from kids” a directive that Phillips did not follow, according to the plaintiffs.
The former ring boys’ attorneys present WWE as an organization rife with a long history of sexual misconduct, including allegations against Vince McMahon himself.
“WWE and the McMahons knew about, tolerated, and at least tacitly (and arguably expressly) approved of a culture of sexual misconduct,” the attorneys wrote, “particularly via the actions of WWE executives and Vince McMahon himself. Sexual misconduct permeated the organization from the top down and infected the organization to its rotten core.”
Sexual abuse and harassment allegedly involving former WWF executives Terry Garvin and Pat Patterson are also summarized in the complaint. The suit points to knowledge of Phillips’ conduct referenced in numerous public interviews and books, including by Jake Roberts, Sid Eudy, Greg Valentine, Sabu, Shane Douglas, the Honky Tonk Man, Brickhouse Brown, Tito Santana, and Bret Hart.
The plaintiffs accuse the McMahons, WWE, and TKO of negligence as well as negligent hiring, training, and retention.
The former ring boys are represented by attorneys from the Dicello Levitt firm, including Greg Gutzler, Adam Prom, Mark DiCello, and Robert DiCello, and William H. Murphy from the Murphy, Falcon & Murphy firm. Gutzler also represents plaintiffs in sex trafficking cases against fashion mogul Peter Nygard.
