TRIGGER WARNING - SEXUAL ABUSE
Attorneys for United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have filed a Motion to Dismiss the WWE Ring Boy Lawsuit.
That's according to Brandon Thurston with Post Wrestling, who reported that McMahon's attorneys filed the Motion to Dismiss because, they wrote, McMahon has no connection to Maryland, where the lawsuit was filed.
“What stands out from the Complaint, however,” McMahon’s attorneys stated, “is that it lacks: any basis for personal jurisdiction over Defendants in Maryland, and any plausible claim for relief.”
McMahon also denied even knowing, nor communicating with the plaintiffs "to the best of her knowledge and memory."
Those comments came after Judge James K. Bredar, who is overseeing the case, approved an order that allowed the defendants (McMahon, Vince McMahon, WWE, and TKO) to know the names, birth dates, and current addresses of the previously anonymous "ring boys."
McMahon stated that she had no prior knowledge of the allegations.
“Until this lawsuit, I was unaware of their allegations against me or anyone else named in the complaint,” McMahon stated in a written and signed declaration. "I never personally supervised Phillips while he was employed by WWE, nor did I direct his activities. Phillips never acted as my agent. If Phillips traveled to Maryland and committed acts of sexual abuse while in Maryland, it was certainly not at my direction nor with my knowledge.”
The lawsuit, was filed in Maryland where the Child's Victims Act of 2023 has removed any time limits or statutes of limitations in regards to when a victim of child sexual abuse can file a civil lawsuit against whom they say were responsible or negligent when it came to the abuse.
According to the lawsuit, the former "ring boys" allege that former WWF ring announcer Mel Phillips sexually abused them throughout the 1980s. Phillips died in 2012, so the plaintiffs are seeking to hold both McMahons, as well as the WWE and its new parent company, TKO, accountable for perceived negligence which allowed Phillips to continue the abuse.
"McMahon’s declaration asserts that she may have briefly held a license in Maryland in 2004 related to conducting wrestling events and that she rented an apartment in the state from 1970 to 1972," Thurston wrote. "However, she argues that without any other ties, her limited connection to the state doesn’t suffice for the case to continue in the jurisdiction where the plaintiffs’ legal claims may be most viable."
McMahon's lawyers also state that John Does 2 and 3 haven't described a specific instance of alleged abuse that occurred in Maryland.
"McMahon seems to question whether the incidents of abuse alleged by Does 2 and 3, if they occurred, actually took place in the state," Thurston wrote.
McMahon was confirmed to be the U.S. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education on March 3, 2025. She was nominated for the position by current president, Donald Trump.
The lawsuit that was filed in Maryland can be read in its entirety here.
The full report from Brandon Thurston can be read at Post Wrestling.
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