A complaint recently filed against Linda McMahon, Donald Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, claims that she “knowingly enabled” a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee to sexually exploit and abuse minors.
According to information obtained by Knewz.com, the former CEO of the WWE has refuted the claims, which are said to have originated in the 1980s.
The lawsuit claims that McMahon, her husband Vince, who co-founded the WWE with his wife Linda, and the WWE, as well as its parent company TKO Group Holdings, “allowed” ringside commentator Melvin Phillips Jr. to use his position to sexually exploit minors he recruited as “ring boys.”
During events, a “ring boy” was assigned to assist Philips Jr. in erecting and taking down wrestling rings.
But according to the lawsuit’s allegations, he would sexually abuse the kids under the pretense of his profession, frequently in front of executives and wrestlers in the locker room.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the WWE ringside commentator frequently recorded the cruelty he inflicted on these kids.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of five people who said that while they were between the ages of 13 and 15, Philips enlisted them as “ring boys” and allegedly sexually exploited and abused them, leaving them permanently damaged psychologically and emotionally.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Philips was a well-known ringside commentator and crew chief. The lawsuit claims that his habit of abuse was “common knowledge” in the WWE circuit.
According to the lawsuit, Vince and Linda McMahon were at least aware of Philips’s odd and abnormal fascination with young boys.
“Phillips lured and manipulated the young boys with promises of meeting famous wrestlers and attending the highly popular wrestling shows, experiences that were otherwise unattainable for these kids,” according to the complaint.
“(The McMahons, WWE and TKO Holdings) allowed Phillips and others to engage in, and foster, the WWE s rampant culture of sexual abuse,” the complaint continued.
The October complaint also alleges that Philips was fired by the McMahons in 1988 due to a growing number of child sexual assault allegations. After just six weeks, he was reportedly rehired by the WWE, but with the stipulation that he “steer clear from kids.”
According to the lawsuit, the McMahons were fully aware of Philips’ alleged misdeeds, and he allegedly carried on with his twisted behavior this time.
“It was common knowledge in the WWE among the ring crew, wrestlers, and executives that Phillips surrounded himself with a posse of underaged Ring Boys, including when he traveled across state lines and stayed in hotel rooms with the children,” the complaint states.
“After decades of suffering in silence from their childhood trauma, these survivors come forward now to hold Defendants accountable for their conduct in allowing the systemic and pervasive abuse by Philips.”
Despite the fact that the infamous ringside announcer died in 2012, McMahon and her purportedly estranged husband are being sued for being “negligent employers.”
The five unnamed victims are demanding $30,000 in compensation for the alleged mistreatment they suffered while employed with Philips.
McMahon, on the other side, has refuted the accusations, with her lawyer Laura Brevetti saying they are “full of lies.”
There are numerous scurrilous lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations about Linda McMahon in this civil complaint, which is based on allegations that date back more than thirty years. “Ms. McMahon will undoubtedly prevail in her fight against this irrational lawsuit,” Brevettis said in a statement.
In order to run for the Senate, McMahon resigned as CEO of WWE in 2009. However, he lost in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
According to sources, she is currently co-chairing Trump’s “transitional team,” and the president-elect reportedly nominated her for the Education Secretary post. But according to reports, the current case has called into question her ability to act in the best interests of children and protect them.
Notably, Trump’s other cabinet choices have also garnered media attention. For example, his nominee for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, which the Fox News presenter has characterized as a “consensual sexual encounter.”
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