"I still have the utmost respect for Vince McMahon" – WWE legend reacts to lawsuit (Exclusive)

Former WWE employee Janel Grant recently accused Vince McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking. Despite the serious allegations against the 78-year-old, WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long believes people should reserve judgment until both sides of the story come out.

Grant worked for WWE between 2019 and 2022 in the legal and talent departments. In a lawsuit filed on January 25, she alleged that McMahon "asserted power and control" over almost every aspect of her life. It is also claimed that she was "expected and directed" to have sex with other men, including former WWE executive John Laurinaitis.

Long appeared on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine alongside Bill Apter and Mac Davis. The legendary on-screen personality acknowledged the severity of the accusations but made it clear that he still views McMahon as innocent:

"As of this moment, I still have the utmost respect for Vince McMahon," Long said. "My thing is this: we must go by the rules. What that means is Vince McMahon and whoever else, they're innocent until proven guilty. That's what I'm basically waiting to see, what happens in the court of law. To read some of this stuff and see what was really going on, it was really kinda horrifying. Some stuff that I wouldn't dare dream would even be happening." [5:28 – 6:01]

In the video above, Teddy Long also gave his take on John Laurinaitis' alleged involvement in the situation.

---

Teddy Long thinks Vince McMahon accuser was "easy prey"

According to the lawsuit, Janel Grant met Vince McMahon when she was "dealing with profound grief" following the death of her parents. She was also unemployed at the time.

If Grant's claims are true, Teddy Long believes she may have been more inclined to agree to McMahon's alleged demands due to her vulnerable position:

"I think that she was caught at a real gullible time. From what I heard, I heard that she lost both of her parents, they both died, and now she's here [with] no parents, nobody, nothing, and I guess what would we say? She's easy prey." [8:30 – 8:51]

Grant signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) on January 28, 2022, to keep details of her relationship with McMahon secret. However, she allegedly only received $1 million of the agreed-upon amount of $3 million.

Due to McMahon's wealth, Long finds it difficult to believe that his former boss failed to give Grant the rest of the money:

"If this did happen, I can't see Vince or anybody else, if all this woman wanted was three million dollars, Vince ain't a dumb person. If this was really true, I can't not see him not giving her three million dollars, sign whatever it is, and have done with that. That's why I say there might be some stuff here that's not true. " [9:22 – 9:45]

Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter added that Grant is a victim in this case despite McMahon claiming she told "lies" in the lawsuit:

"This girl was the victim. I mean, let's make it plain and simple. She was the victim, and this can never, ever, ever happen again. And who knows, it may be happening in corporate America and other places, but I think, like I said, once you get into a situation like this, you're in the situation and you get scared enough not to be able to get out of this when it's even so very ugly." [9:55 – 10:23]

Apter also revealed what a source told him about the breakdown in Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon's relationship.

---

Please credit Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.