Seven women have accused David Sullivan, the West Ham co-owner who made a fortune in the porn and media industry, of preying on them for sex, according to an investigation by the BBC and The Times of London.
The women said Sullivan used his power to try to get them to perform sex acts when they were young models seeking work at his Daily Sport and Sunday Sport newspapers, which featured photos of topless and scantily clad women.
West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan. AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Sullivan denied the allegations through his lawyer but stepped down as co-chairman of the east London club to “avoid disruption,” the team said.
Sullivan said he became aware of “factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life due to be broadcast and published.”
One woman told the BBC Panorama program that she met Sullivan at his mansion in 1999 to discuss work and was told she’d be one of his “regular girls” if they had sex. The woman, who was 20 at the time, said she tried to decline but was led to a bedroom and felt she was forced to have sex with him.
“You’ll be in all the magazines. I can give you covers, I can give you centrefolds, and you’ll be one of my Sport girls,” she recalled him saying.
In a panic, the woman said her boyfriend was outside, but Sullivan insisted, saying: “It will only take a minute, and he never has to know.”
The woman then tried to avoid contact by saying she was on her period.
“This is the bit that will haunt me forever,” she said. “He lifted his pinky in the air – his little finger – and he went, it’s all right, I’ll only put it in a little bit.”
Sullivan reportedly said after the encounter: “Congratulations, you will be one of our new Sport girls and you’re going to get lots of work.”
The BBC report states that most of the women wanted to remain anonymous and that two women said they felt they had no choice but to have sex with him to avoid damaging their future modelling careers. “He was taking advantage of young people,” one said.
Another former model said when she had tried to leave a meeting with Sullivan after he propositioned her for sex, she found the door was locked, and he only let her go after she began raising her voice.
Sullivan’s lawyers said the scenario described was implausible.
The BBC said it discovered that eight women, including one in its investigation, reported Sullivan’s conduct to police. He was never charged.
Sullivan said in a statement issued by the team that he planned to sue the BBC and other media for libel.
West Ham United chairman David Sullivan, left, and partner Ampika Pickston in May 2026. PA
Sullivan, 77, published porn magazines and films in the late 1970s and 1980s.
“After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims,” he said.
He said none of the claims were related to his ownership of West Ham.
Sullivan got involved in football when he bought into Birmingham City in 1993. He left in 2009 and a year later bought a stake in West Ham.
West Ham was relegated from the Premier League this season.