In 1994, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York brought a criminal court case against Vince McMahon on suspicion of supplying illegal anabolic steroids to his professional wrestlers.
McMahon was charged with two counts of distributing steroids and one of conspiracy to distribute steroids.
Arriving to the trial, McMahon sported a neck brace following a recent neck surgery.
"Right before the trial, Vince had neck surgery so he goes into the trial and is in a neck brace. My impression was that it was not an operation he needed to do at that moment," recalled Dave Meltzer on "Mr. McMahon."
McMahon stated, "A lot of people thought, 'He's wearing this thing because he's trying to invoke some sort of sympathy for the jury.' That was not the case."
The jury found McMahon not guilty on July 23, 1994.
WWE maintained a drug policy after the trial and began to put less emphasis on wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, moving into the New Generation with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
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Janel Grant, a former WWE employee, filed a lawsuit in January against Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis. The lawsuit accuses McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking. On May 30, Grant agreed to pause the lawsuit for six months while the federal investigation continued against McMahon, who resigned from TKO/WWE following the lawsuit being filed.
Victim Resources:
National Sexual Assault Hotline
Hours: Available 24 hours
1-800-656-4673
