WWE and Montez Ford (Kenneth Crawford) are being sued by a Cook County Sheriff. Noel Lucas was working as an off-duty security guard at Allstate Arena in the Chicagoland area when he says he received an "unwanted lap dance" from Crawford during the Street Profits entrance during the July 6 episode of "Raw".According to POST Wrestling, Lucas filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The suit alleges 14 counts, including assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, along with violating the Illinois Gender Violence Act. POST also notes that Event Services, LLC, a WWE subsidiary is also named in the lawsuit.Since the clip of the interaction between Crawford and Lucas is widely available online, Lucas alleges that both he and his kids have been "mocked and ridiculed". Due to these actions, Lucas believes he has "suffered humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress". Because his face is easily seen in the clip, Lucas also claims his image has been used for commercial purposes and therefore violates the Illinois Right of Publicity Act. The clip is not currently on the Netflix replay as the show cuts to commercial.Lucas maintains that a WWE employee had him seated against the ringside barricade, positioning him in Street Profits path. The filing states that "Defendant Crawford then began performing a sexually provocative dance immediately in front of and over Plaintiff [Lucas], repeatedly thrusting and gyrating his hips and pelvis towards Plaintiff, performing a sexualized 'lap dance.'"As Crawford moved closer to Lucas, the suit alleges that his "left inner thigh repeatedly rubbed against Plaintiff's leg."A case management hearing is scheduled for December 10. Lucas is seeking punitive damages along with unspecified monetary damages, and coverage of his legal costs. He also wants an order that WWE and Crawford cannot use his identity.
