The “Ring Boys” and their attorneys are claiming another legal victory in their case against World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), TKO Group Holdings, and Vince and Linda McMahon.
The survivors allege they were sexually abused as minors while working in connection with WWE events during the 1980s and 1990s.
Today, a federal judge has rejected a constitutional challenge brought by the defendants. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar of the District of Maryland dismissed the constitutionality of Maryland’s Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminated time limits for filing civil lawsuits involving childhood sexual abuse. The law recognizes that survivors often delay disclosing abuse due to the lasting effects of trauma, giving them an opportunity to pursue justice when they are ready to come forward.
DiCello Levitt and Murphy, Falcon & Murphy represent the survivors in John Doe 1 et al. v. World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC et al.
“This ruling is a significant victory for our clients and for other survivors of childhood sexual abuse who have waited years for the opportunity to seek justice,” said Greg Gutzler, a partner at DiCello Levitt. “Trauma does not follow a legal deadline, and Maryland’s Child Victims Act recognizes that reality. Our clients have waited years to hold those responsible accountable. We will not stop fighting until their voices are heard and they have their day in court.”
The defendants argued that Maryland’s Child Victims Act was unconstitutional as applied to them because it allowed lawsuits over alleged abuse from decades earlier.
Judge Bredar disagreed, finding that the law was passed to remedy a well-known problem: the fact that trauma and other factors can suppress the ability of child sexual abuse victims to report within traditional statute of limitations periods. He also rejected the defendants’ argument that the law is punitive, finding instead that its primary aim is to allow the survivors to bring childhood claims that were lost through no fault of their own, and often due to the actions of their abusers.
The ruling follows the court’s December 2025 decision largely denying the defendants’ earlier motions to dismiss.
The WWE Ring Boys sexual abuse lawsuit alleges that WWE employees, including ringside announcer and ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr., recruited underage boys to assist with wrestling events and used their positions to groom, exploit, and sexually abuse them. The plaintiffs further allege that WWE leadership, including Vince and Linda McMahon, knew or should have known about the abuse but failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.
