According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, WWE CEO Vince McMahon has made numerous payoffs over the years to keep bad behavior quiet at the famed wrestling company. The WWE board of directors began their own investigation in April and found evidence that McMahon had an affair with a paralegal who later received a $3 million payment to keep the incident quiet.
Not only that but the board’s investigation also uncovered other payments made to former female WWE employees who also signed nondisclosure agreements for actions by McMahon and WWE executive John Larinaitis.
It is yet another black eye for the wrestling company that has done or been involved in everything you can possibly think of, yet the McMahon family and the company have been able to walk away from virtually every scenario unscathed.
How did the WWE board learn about the affair?
According to the report the board became aware of the $3 million payoff from a series of anonymous emails sent from a “friend” of the female paralegal. The woman left the company after “encounters” with McMahon and Laurinaitis. The emails stated that McMahon hired the paralegal at a salary of $100,000 but later gave her a raise to $200,000 after starting a sexual relationship with her.
Vince McMahon (L) and Donald Trump attend a press conference about the WWE at the Austin Straubel International Airport on June 22, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mark A. Wallenfang/Getty Images)
The email sent to the board also alleged that the former XFL owner would “pass” the female employee around and that is how her relationship with Laurinaitis began.
“My friend was so scared, so she quit after Vince McMahon and lawyer Jerry (McDevitt) paid her millions of dollars to shut up,” the first email to the board stated.
The board’s first initial findings have indicated that McMahon paid the former female employees with personal funds. McMahon is no stranger to controversy, since taking over the WWE in 1982, McMahon has had to deal with a steroid scandal, putting down a Wrestling union, countless lawsuits for breach of contract by former wrestlers, the death of Owen Hart, and countless deaths of former wrestlers after their in-ring time had expired.
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