Vince McMahon’s attorney responds to ‘Ring Boy Scandal’ lawsuit

The attorney of Vince McMahon has responded to a new lawsuit filed on Wednesday.

McMahon’s attorney Jessica Rosenberg released a statement to Brandon Thurston denying the allegations filed by five survivors of the ‘ring boy scandal’ who are suing McMahon, Linda McMahon, and WWE/TKO claiming negligence on their behalf for doing nothing to stop sexual abuse of underage boys from Mel Phillips, who was both an announcer and head of the ring crew in the 1980s.

“More than 30 years ago, the columnist Phil Mushnick tried to make headlines with these same false claims,” Rosenberg’s statement reads. “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. We will vigorously defend Mr. McMahon and are confident the court will find that these claims are untrue and unfounded.”

The ring boy scandal first became public in 1992. Phillips, Terry Garvin, and Pat Patterson were all fired from WWE due to the allegations, though Patterson was eventually hired back and remained part of the company until he died in 2020.

The lawsuit claims that the survivors, who were named John Does 1-5 in the suit, learned of the depth of knowledge the McMahons and WWE had regarding the abuse based on the lawsuit Janel Grant filed in January accusing Vince McMahon of sexual abuse and trafficking. That lawsuit is currently on pause as the Justice Department continues its investigation against McMahon.