McMahon Dealt Legal Blow in “Ring Boys” Case

A federal judge on Monday rejected a challenge by Education Secretary Linda McMahon and her co-defendants to declare the Maryland Child Victims Act unconstitutional.

The defendants argued the law violated the 14th Amendment’s due process clause by reviving decades-old claims that are difficult to defend against, as well as the Constitution’s ex post facto clause by imposing retroactive punishment. Judge James Bredar, an Obama appointee, rejected both arguments.

The case—which alleges that McMahon and others failed to address rampant sexual abuse of teens and young boys when she was an executive at World Wrestling Entertainment—will now move forward. The court also set a call for next month to determine the litigation schedule, which could include deposing McMahon to determine what she knew during her time in the WWE. McMahon led the wrestling company alongside her husband, Vince McMahon. She served in various executive roles from 1980 until she stepped down for an unsuccessful Senate run in 2009.

(As Education Secretary, McMahon has maintained a public relationship with WWE, joining several wrestlers to participate in an event earlier this month to promote the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test. President Donald Trump is also a 2013 inductee in the WWE Hall of Fame.)

The plaintiffs allege that they were sexually abused by Mel Phillips, a longtime WWE employee who served as a ring announcer and ring crew chief from the mid-1970s through the early ’90s. McMahon has stated in court filings that she did not supervise Phillips, nor was she aware of his actions—though his alleged predatory behavior was reportedly an open secret among industry insiders. WWE fired Phillips in the early ’90s and he died in 2012.

In a Monday statement, Greg Gutzler, a partner at DiCello Levitt, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, called the ruling a “significant victory” for both their clients and other sex abuse survivors.

“Trauma does not follow a legal deadline, and Maryland’s Child Victims Act recognizes that reality. Our clients have waited years to hold those responsible accountable. We will not stop fighting until their voices are heard and they have their day in court,” Gutzler said.

An attorney for McMahon did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.