The board’s investigation, which began in April, has unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr. McMahon and one of his top executives, John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the people said. The Journal couldn’t determine how many previous agreements were being scrutinized.
Wow. The affairs themselves obviously aren’t surprising to anyone who’s been paying attention, but what’s fascinating is what this says about the makeup and aims of the board of directors. The fact that there’s a group within the company who clearly feel comfortable making this big of a move against Vince (or that it’s in the company’s larger interests to do so) is, frankly, gob-smacking news.
This is the beginning of the end of Vince in WWE?
The last McMahon standing.
A sale of the company is definitely the goal right now. Vince cashes out amid this controversy?
Board members learned of the $3 million agreement in a series of anonymous emails they received from someone who said the former WWE paralegal was a friend.
The first email, sent to board members on March 30, alleged that Mr. McMahon, 76 years old, initially hired the woman at a salary of $100,000 but increased it to $200,000 after beginning a sexual relationship with her. The email to the board also alleged that Mr. McMahon “gave her like a toy” to Mr. Laurinaitis. The board is investigating the allegations in the email, the people familiar with the inquiry said.
“My friend was so scared so she quit after Vince McMahon and lawyer Jerry paid her millions of dollars to shut up,” the initial email to the board said, referring to Mr. McMahon’s longtime lawyer, Mr. McDevitt, who negotiated the deal, according to people familiar with the board inquiry.