An off-duty Cook County sheriff's officer is suing WWE and wrestler Montez Ford, claiming the performer straddled him and thrust his hips against him without warning during a live Monday Night Raw broadcast at Allstate Arena, after which the clip went viral and followed him to his day job at a Cook County courthouse. Noel Lucas filed the 14-count civil lawsuit on October 14 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, naming WWE, Montez Ford — legal name Kenneth Crawford — and WWE subsidiary Event Services, LLC as co-defendants.
Lucas was working private security for the July 6 Raw taping in Rosemont when, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, he was instructed to sit in a seat outside the ring as part of his post. Lucas alleges Crawford approached him without warning, straddled him, and repeatedly thrust and gyrated his hips in a sexually suggestive manner. Court documents cited by Cultaholic Wrestling allege Crawford moved his body increasingly closer to Lucas during the entrance, with the wrestler's left inner thigh repeatedly rubbing against Lucas's leg without consent.
Statutory Claims Beyond Basic Battery
The complaint leans on more than a standard personal injury claim. Per the same outlet, it includes statutory counts under the Illinois Gender Violence Act and the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, alongside common-law claims of civil assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Gender Violence Act creates a private civil cause of action for non-consensual physical intrusions of a sexual nature that satisfy the elements of battery, and amendments effective January 1, 2024 allow employers to be held civilly liable for gender-related violence committed by employees or agents acting within the scope of their duties, according to Jackson Lewis.
Lucas said the lap dance amounted to unwanted sexual contact, and his lawyers argue in the lawsuit that the entertainment nature of the event does not excuse the conduct or remove the need for consent, the Sun-Times reports. Attorney Whitney Barr, who represents Lucas, said he was at work, following instructions to remain at his post, when a WWE performer subjected him to unwanted sexualized physical contact before thousands of spectators and a nationwide audience.
Mockery Followed Him to the Courthouse
According to the court filing, when Lucas reported to his full-time job at a Cook County courthouse the day after the show, members of the public recognized him from viral internet videos and mocked him by thrusting their hips in his direction, per POST Wrestling. The Sun-Times reports Lucas was also ridiculed by members of the public and fellow law enforcement officers after footage of the incident, which had been posted to WWE and Montez Ford's social media pages, spread online. Lucas alleges his children have also been made fun of because of the incident, and he says he has suffered substantial humiliation, emotional distress, and reputational harm as a result.
Barr's public statement also emphasized that Lucas was working the secondary security shift to better provide for his children, a detail that underscores how common it is for law enforcement officers to take on off-duty security assignments at venues like Allstate Arena. The arena itself is owned and operated by the Village of Rosemont in Cook County and seats more than 18,000 for entertainment shows, according to the venue.
Clip Missing From Netflix Archive
As of October 15, the archived recording of the July 6 Raw broadcast hosted on Netflix no longer includes the interaction between Crawford and Lucas, instead cutting to commercial break earlier during the entrance, POST Wrestling reported. Netflix became the global streaming home for WWE's Monday Night Raw in January 2025, and the altered archive could become a point of contention if the case proceeds to discovery.
Crawford, who performs under the ring name Montez Ford as one half of the tag team Street Profits alongside partner Angelo Dawkins, is a multi-time WWE Tag Team Champion who originally hails from Chicago, according to Fightful. WWE did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the Sun-Times reports.
Jury Trial and Injunction Sought
Lucas is seeking an unspecified amount in compensation for emotional distress and punitive damages, and he has demanded a jury trial, per court documents cited by the Sun-Times. Beyond monetary damages, the lawsuit also requests an injunction barring WWE and Montez Ford from using Lucas's image, likeness, or identity for commercial purposes, a remedy available under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, which allows plaintiffs to seek court orders halting unauthorized commercial use of a person's identity.
The case's first hearing is scheduled for December 10 at the Daley Center. It remains unclear whether WWE or Montez Ford will file a motion to dismiss before that date, and how the altered Netflix archive will factor into any discovery proceedings that follow.
