Son Of Sweet Georgia Brown Defends The Fabulous Moolah Over Recent Allegations
Since the announcement of this year's Women's Battle Royal honoring WWE Hall of Famer The Fabulous Moolah, the company has been mired in controversy and protest, which ultimately led to a name change. Stemming from a 2006 article from the Free Times and Metro Spirit, Moolah's first black student, Susie Mae McMoy (Sweet Georgia Brown), reportedly told her daughter that she was "raped, given drugs and made an addict," in an attempt to control her.
In addition, she did not spend much time with her family after becoming popular on the pro wrestling scene, and was also abducted and sped away when it was time to leave her short family visit. She also recalled her mother not being allowed to have her own bank account, being struck and dragged back to the car after visiting her family, and Brown telling her that she received "odd knocks on the door at strange hours," having to take off her dress, and was often brutally beaten when she did not comply to the point of her eyes swelling shut.
Brown's son, Michael McCoy, was also featured in the article. McCoy claimed that, in a search to find his father (believed to be Buddy Lee, former common-law husband of Moolah who would later promote Brown), he started with meeting Moolah in hopes to get questions answered. In their meeting, Moolah showered him with affection, and spoke fondly of his mother Sweet Georgia Brown. Despite Moolah repeatedly saying that he was "like a son to her," she later stopped taking McCoy's calls, and backed out of a scheduled follow-up meeting.
Despite Moolah abandoning their potential relationship, McCoy still spoke highly of her in a recent interview seen above. He said that when he went to Moolah, he was looking to bring closure to the search of who his father was, not for "what happened back in the 60s or 50s, or even the early 70s," because that was not a concern of his. He felt that Moolah was helpful in this quest, telling him that "all roads lead to Nashville," where Buddy Lee and his wife Rita Cortez (who also trained with Brown, and her affair with Lee was instrumental in ending his relationship with Moolah) were located. This was following McCoy asking about a picture hanging on Moolah wall which depicted Buddy Lee and Sweet Georgia Brown along with the late pop music and R&B star, Brook Benton.
"People putting out stories that Moolah used my mother as a prostitute, she caused my mother to be on drugs. And I come to say today that that's not true," said McCoy. "That's not true at all. Especially knowing the Moolah that I had grew to know. That who treated me real nice. Who invited me into her home, stayed in contact with me, and even before she died, she even embraced me with love."
McCoy added that he is not "a fake or a phony," and no one is coercing him to say these things. He added, "Moolah did the right thing, and she helped my mother."
When asked why his sister had such a negative view of Moolah based on her personal accounts and mother's comments, McCoy said that his sister is much older than he is, and she did not want Brown to leave after only being able to see her family for 15-20 minutes before going back into the car and on the road.
"My sister used to cry all the time because she wanted to be with my mother," McCoy said. "If anybody know anything about the times in the 60s, you know, it was tough. I'm not saying Buddy Lee did anything wrong, I'm not saying Moolah did anything wrong, but as being a wife back in the 60s, even if Moolah knew anything that was going on, she wasn't in a position to say anything. Wives didn't say nothing. They just went along with what they husbands told them."
McCoy also stated that if the wrestlers were victims of Moolah robbing, drugging, and prostituting them, they would have left, but instead they stayed affiliated with her for years. He added that, to this, day, he still does not officially know that Buddy Lee is his father. Regarding Fabulous Moolah's name associated with the women's battle royal, McCoy believes that her name should be honored and not removed because she "paved the way for women's wrestlers" and "was the greatest."
If any portion of these quotes is used, please be sure to credit Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.