Lawyer For Ring Boys Suing Vince McMahon & WWE Explains Why They Are Taking Action Now

As reported yesterday, Vince and Linda McMahon, WWE, and TKO, are now facing fresh scrutiny after law firm DiCello Levitt and Murphy, Falcon & Murphy filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of five John Does, who accused the former CEO, his wife, and companies, of allowing former WWE ring announcer Mel Phillips to sexually abuse them when they were minors on multiple occasions in the '80s and '90s. Dubbed "Ring Boys," these children were purportedly brought in to help with shows. With the rise of movements like "Speaking Out" bringing such matters to the forefront, Attorney Greg Gutzler believes this landscape allowed his clients to find their voice in a time where support is widely available. Gutzler spoke with "Pollock and Thurston" about how this lawsuit began, and why it's hard for victims to come forward after incidents like this occur.

"We've been investigating this for months. We were approached by several ring boys, who I think felt empowered by a shift in the culture of our country, as well as, most importantly, the recent revelations regarding Vince and the culture of corruption at the WWE," Gutzler stated. "We detail this in our complaint, where we talk about the myriad allegations against Vince, the hush payments that were made, how that was investigated, with respect to TKO and WWE, and what was going on at the company.

"If you look at sexual abuse, what you will see is that most sexual abuse goes unreported entirely. And then, if you look at the small percentage of sexual abuse that is reported, you often have years and years of what they call 'delayed disclosure,' and that's because of the cultural barriers, the fear, the shame, and the intimidation of companies like WWE."

Off the point of why it might take sexual assault survivors time to come forward,  Gutzler mentioned that in the State of Maryland, where the case has been filed, the state removed the statute of limitations from these cases, named The Child Victims Act, because the state "recognizes the science and psychology that goes into trauma victims having delayed disclosure." Having said that, Gutzler stated they are being contacted by more people on this particular matter. To clarify, Gutzler made it apparent that the five John Does who came forward in this lawsuit were "not in concert with one another," meaning that the investigations were separate. However, Gutzler brought them into one case, as he did not want any of the victims to feel harassed or threatened in any way by the defendants or any potential attempts to silence their claims. 

"Yes, there's strength in numbers in terms of being able to withstand what you know will be the inevitable ... just attacking them in every way, using the machinery," Gutzler added. "You know it's happened in the past, how WWE has treated survivors of any type of abuse, not just sexual, but it could be employment issues. There's been a lot of cases here."  

Gutzler also credited Janel Grant for being the "lightning rod" of allowing these five John Does to come forward with their accounts of sexual abuse. Grant's lawyer, Ann Callis, recently made a statement on behalf of Grant, saying she "stands by all WWE survivors and believes that Mr. McMahon, WWE, and all involved parties must be held accountable."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Pollock and Thurston" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.