Since November, the ring boy scandal of 1992 has resurfaced for the WWE. After reminding voters of it as Republicans used the fringe conspiracy theory QAnon to accuse Democrats of sexual abuse, people brought this scandal back to light as a reminder Donald Trump had a super PAC supporting him that was linked to abuse they were accusing Democrats of committing. It once again resurfaced over the weekend as it was reported Friday night one of the most known victims of the abusers in the scandal committed suicide.
While it was talked about how Tom Cole’s suicide had been amplified by WWE’s tributes and treatment of Pat Patterson following his passing. Patterson was never accused of any acts of abuse against Cole or anyone, but Cole had long alleged Patterson knew about the abuse and turned a blind eye to it. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer talked about a claim the brother of Cole, Lee Cole, made about this scandal. He alleged WWE paid him close to $20,000 years ago so he would go away by moving and no longer speaking to the press about his brother’s situation.
“Lee was consistently against [WWE] even though they paid Lee $19,999 at one point to basically shut up and move, at least that’s how he described it. They gave him money because he was living in Utica and they wanted him to move out of Utica because the media knew where he was and they wanted him to disappear and not talk to the media; but he continued to talk to the media afterwards which got them very upset after they paid him money. So, that was another aspect of this story.”
Suicide is terrible and Tom Cole’s death could have been avoided. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, encourage them to speak with someone at 800-273-8255 in the United States, or please take the opportunity to use Google to find resources local to you.
h/t to Ringside News for the quote
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