Taeler Hendrix Sexual Harassment Allegations, ROH and Lethal's Respond

[cero2k]

Source: f4wonline.com

-- On Wednesday, former Ring of Honor wrestler Taeler Hendrix (Taeler Conrad-Mellen) said on Twitter that she was taken off TV in 2017 due to her refusing to have sex with Jay Lethal (Jamar Shipman).

On Friday, ROH COO Joe Koff released a statement to F4WOnline.com via their PR company:

"We were troubled to hear the allegations that surfaced last night on Twitter. We take these matters very seriously and will be investigating this situation thoroughly, reviewing all evidence related to the matter. Ring of Honor strives to provide an environment and workplace where male and female wrestlers are free from any misconduct or abuse. We will take appropriate action upon the conclusion of our findings."

The statement was also provided to PWTorch who ran a story about the situation on Thursday.

When asked if the company would also release a statement from Shipman or provide a timeline in which their investigation would take place, their PR firm said the statement was all they had. At this point, Shipman hasn't made any public statement.

Conrad-Mellen made a more formal statement on Wednesday via Twitter:

"I know this is going to be on wrestling sites. My name is Taeler & this is my statement: attorneys on my behalf have an ongoing investigation. I know I'm not the only one & ppl that have known of this investigation have been supportive. I'll continue to fight for what's right."

Conrad-Mellen was part of The House of Truth stable with Shipman and Truth Martini (Martin Krcaj) during her time with ROH. She joined the company in 2015 and departed it in April 2017. She has been active on Twitter in the days since the allegation, retweeting fan support.

-- In his first statement on the matter, Jay Lethal (Jamar Shipman) has denied the allegations that were made against him on Twitter last week by Taeler Hendrix (Taeler Conrad-Mellen).

Hendrix claimed last Wednesday that Lethal "told me because I didn't sleep with him they sabotaged me and took me off TV" prior to her leaving Ring of Honor in 2017. ROH then released a statement via their PR company noting that they take these matters very seriously, would be investigating the situation thoroughly, and would take appropriate action upon the conclusion of their findings.

Lethal issued his own response this afternoon, prefacing his comments by writing that he doesn't want them to fuel attacks against himself or his accuser:

"Let me be clear, there is absolutely no validity to these baseless allegations. Throughout my career I have sought to conduct myself with honor and integrity. I would never engage in any conduct that disrespects this business or the men and women in this industry.

Every individual has a right to be heard and must be given every opportunity to speak truth to power. Anyone engaging in misconduct or abuse of any kind simply has no place in our business or our society.

I am confident that these unfortunate allegations will be proven to be completely unfounded at the conclusion of Ring of Honor's investigation."

Hendrix responded by tweeting out what she claimed was a screenshot of an old text message from Lethal where he wrote that he needed to talk to her. She wrote today, "deny all you want. you sent me this before you pulled me aside at a live event, told me what you told me. just because the business has been a certain way for so long. I'm tired of it and I'm fighting for what's right."

Hendrix also tweeted that "the people that typically are the most politically correct are also typically the ones full of the most bullsh*t."

Lethal and Hendrix were both formerly part of Truth Martini's House of Truth stable in ROH. Hendrix departed the company in April 2017, with her writing today that she left "once the office did nothing" about the situation.

Lethal is the current ROH World Champion after having won the title on June 30. This is the second time he's held the championship in his career.

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