David Sullivan resigns from West Ham amid sexual claims

David Sullivan has resigned as joint-chairman and director of West Ham United Football Club, stepping down on June 6 ahead of a major investigation alleging decades of sexually exploitative and predatory behavior. The 77-year-old businessman, who remains the club’s largest single shareholder, denies all allegations and has announced plans to sue the BBC for libel.

The allegations stem from a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times, detailed in a documentary titled "Predator: The Billionaire Football Boss" that aired on June 8. Seven women have come forward claiming Sullivan abused his power over them when they were young models seeking work at his newspapers, the Daily Sport and Sunday Sport, during the 1980s and 1990s. The women, who were in their late teens or early twenties at the time, allege Sullivan pressured them for sex or oral sex during business meetings, suggesting it would advance their modeling careers.

One woman, identified by the pseudonym Florence, said she felt pressured into having sex with Sullivan in 1999 when she did not want to, an encounter she said took away her innocence. Another, named Sacha Wall, alleged that during a 1998 meeting at his...