Linda McMahon.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Linda McMahon, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for education secretary, has been accused in a recent lawsuit of failing to stop a ringside announcer for World Wrestling Entertainment from grooming and sexually abusing children in the 1980s and 1990s.
McMahon and her husband, Vince McMahon, ran the wrestling empire beginning in the early 1980s, with Linda McMahon working as its president and CEO until 2009.
Allegations that underage boys were abused by employees have dogged the organization for decades. The recent lawsuit was filed in October by five former "ring boys" who ran errands and helped set up before matches for WWE in the 1980s.
The lawsuit claims that the five boys were sexually abused by the organization's ringside announcer and ring crew chief, Melvin Phillips Jr., who died in 2012. It was filed in Maryland against Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, WWE and TKO Group Holdings. The suit accuses the McMahons and the other defendants of criminal negligence by allowing Phillips to remain at the company for years. The plaintiffs are not named.
The suit says the McMahons were aware of credible abuse accusations against Phillips and other employees, and tolerated them anyway. It does not accuse Linda McMahon of sexual misconduct.
"We finally have a chance to hold accountable those who allowed and enabled the open, rampant sexual abuse of these young boys," Greg Gutzler, a lawyer at DiCello Levitt who is leading the litigation, said in a statement.
Linda McMahon did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit and its claims. Laura Brevetti, an attorney for McMahon, told CNN the allegations were false.
According to the complaint, in 1988 the McMahons fired Phillips after allegations about him came to light. But it says the McMahons rehired the announcer six weeks later and protected him legally. The lawsuit also cites a raft of other complaints of sexual harassment and abuse around WWE over the years.
The allegations in the recent lawsuit and the long history of questions about the work environment at WWE have raised concerns about Linda McMahon's potential nomination. In her role as education secretary, she would oversee the department's Office of Civil Rights, which enforces laws such as Title IX that protect students from sex discrimination and sexual harassment.