(Reuters) – WWE Inc stated on Friday it launched an investigation into alleged misconduct by longtime Chief Govt Vince McMahon and appointed his daughter Stephanie as interim head.
McMahon has voluntarily stepped again from his obligations as CEO and chairman till the evaluation is over, the corporate stated.
The board is investigating a $3 million settlement that McMahon agreed to pay to a departing worker with whom he allegedly had an affair, the Wall Road Journal had reported on.wsj.com/3xWYUfK on Wednesday.
WWE stated on Friday the board had engaged an exterior authorized counsel to help with an unbiased evaluation, including it should additionally conduct a complete evaluation of the corporate’s compliance program, HR operate and general tradition.
The corporate, which produces and distributes weekly wrestling exhibits “Uncooked” and “Smackdown”, stated McMahon, 76, will retain his artistic content material obligations throughout this era.
The board’s investigation, which started in April, has unearthed different, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former feminine WWE workers of misconduct by McMahon and the top of expertise relations, John Laurinaitis, in line with the WSJ report.
The probe by the board contains Laurinaitis, the corporate stated on Friday.
Stephanie McMahon, who has been typically touted as her father’s successor, took a go away of absence final month to concentrate on her household.
Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Modifying by Shounak Dasgupta and Sriraj Kalluvila
