Judge Pauses Lawsuit Against Linda McMahon, Trump’s Education Secretary Pick

The legal hold could potentially delay addressing the lawsuit through McMahon’s Senate confirmation proceeding.

A federal judge has paused a lawsuit against Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive and prospective head of the U.S. Department of Education.

The lawsuit alleges that McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon—former leaders of WWE during its rise to prominence—overlooked reports that an employee sexually abused the teenage “Ring Boys” who worked on the crews that set up wrestling rings. The McMahons have firmly denied the claims.

On Dec. 4, Judge James K. Bredar of the U.S. District Court for Maryland granted the defendants’ request to put the case on hold until the state’s highest court rules on the constitutionality of the Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023.

That measure repealed the statute of limitations for certain civil lawsuits related to child sexual abuse, opening the door for new lawsuits, including this one.

The pause could potentially delay the lawsuit through McMahon’s Senate confirmation proceeding, as the Maryland Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in August.

The so-called Ring Boys scandal dates back to at least the mid-1980s, but the allegations first emerged in 1992, holding that WWE employees sexually abused young men and boys working on the ring crew, and that WWE leaders failed to act despite knowledge of abuse.

Several employees, including ringside announcer and ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr., resigned in response to the allegations.

In October, weeks before McMahon’s nomination as education secretary, five former Ring Boys sued, saying they had faced abuse in the 1980s from Phillips, who died in 2012. The plaintiffs, now adults, allege they were between 13 and 15 years old when Phillips abused them.

The lawsuit targets the McMahons, WWE, and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, alleging that they neglected their duty to protect the boys by failing to take “even the most reasonable measures.”

Laura Brevetti, an attorney for Linda McMahon, called the allegations baseless.

“This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus-year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon,” Brevetti said in a statement to media outlets following her client’s nomination.

“The matter at the time was investigated by company attorneys and the FBI, which found no grounds to continue the investigation. Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed.”

McMahon served as a top executive in WWE from the early 1980s through 2009. Videos of McMahon’s on-screen appearances during WWE’s heyday went viral on social media after President-elect Donald Trump tapped her to lead the Education Department, fueling debate about her qualifications.

McMahon critics, including the nation’s largest public school teachers unions, highlighted her limited experience in the education sphere. Her supporters, meanwhile, pointed to her success as a corporate executive who played a key role in transforming WWE from a regional business her husband bought from his father in 1982 for an estimated $1 million to a global entertainment powerhouse valued at $9 billion in 2023.

McMahon’s experience in education includes serving as a trustee for Sacred Heart University for more than 15 years and spending a year on the Connecticut Board of Education.

While at WWE, McMahon also championed popular literacy programs like the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.