WWE Ring Boys Lawsuit Mentioned During Linda McMahon's Senate Confirmation Hearing

The lawsuit filed against WWE, Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, and TKO Group Holdings by former ring boys was mentioned during Linda McMahon's Senate confirmation hearing to become Secretary of Education.

While the vast majority of the questions to McMahon focused on education, Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin expressed her concern about whether sexual assault survivors at universities could trust McMahon due to the ongoing lawsuit.

"Mrs. McMahon, you have been named in a lawsuit which alleges that you and your husband allowed for systemic and pervasive abuse of underage children to persist in your business for years. It is an ongoing lawsuit and it alleges that you rehired a known sexual predator and felt it was simply sufficient to direct him to steer clear of children. If confirmed, you will be responsible with overseeing the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, charged with ensuring equal access to education through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. I am so concerned about whether sexual assault survivors on campus can trust you to support them," Senator Baldwin said.

With Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Shane McMahon sitting behind her at the hearing, Linda McMahon replied:

"Thank you senator, they certainly can trust me to support them. I have a granddaughter that is now in college, I have two grandsons who are in college, and I have a deep commitment of understanding of how I would feel if any one of them were involved in sexual harassment or accused of sexual harassment. You have my absolute commitment that I will uphold and protect those investigations to make sure that those students are treated fairly on both sides."

Five former WWE ring boys filed a lawsuit in October 2024 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland against Linda McMahon, Vince McMahon, WWE, and TKO Group Holdings. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were aware of the sexual abuse carried out by Mel Phillips but did nothing to prevent or stop it.

Phillips allegedly groomed, exploited, and sexually abused underage WWE ring boys. The ring boys were children who helped set up the ring at WWE events in the 1980s and 1990s. Terry Garvin was the head of the ring boy crew, while Mel Phillips worked under him.

More plaintiffs have joined the ring boys lawsuit since it was filed in October 2024.

Senator Baldwin's statement referred to a deposition from Phil Mushnick as part of the lawsuit WWE filed against Mushnick and the New York Post in the 1990s about his reporting on the ring boy scandal. Within the deposition, as reported by Business Insider, Mushnick described conversations he had with Vince McMahon in which McMahon acknowledged he and Linda "had known for some time that Mel had a peculiar and unnatural interest and attachment to children." This led to WWE firing Phillips in 1988, but Linda McMahon brought Phillips back to the company soon after with the caveat that Phillips "steer clear of underaged boys, stop hanging around kids, and stop chasing after kids," Mushnick stated. WWE's lawsuit against Mushnick and the New York Post was later dropped.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will now vote on whether or not to advance Linda McMahon's nomination for Secretary of Education. She is expected to be approved by the committee due to the Republican majority. An approval would send the nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote, which is also likely to pass due to the Republican majority.

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