• Loading stock data...
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

From WWE to Washington: Linda McMahon Is Trump’s Pick for Education Secretary

Linda McMahon was the president and CEO of WWE for nearly 30 years, helping it turn into a billion-dollar company amid multiple scandals.

Syndication: Imagn Images

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of WWE cofounder Linda McMahon as the next Secretary of Education. 

Should McMahon’s appointment receive congressional approval, she would be tasked with administering Trump’s plan of shutting down the Department of Education. She will also have significant influence over the enforcement of Title IX, the gender equity law in college sports.

While McMahon left her role as the president and CEO of the WWE in 2009, she, alongside her husband, Vince McMahon, was integral in the company’s rise to become the most prominent wrestling promotion in the world—even amid several scandals that loom over the company to this day.

The Early Days

Linda McMahon, born Linda Marie Edwards, met Vince McMahon when she was 13 years old and he was 16. They married following her high school graduation in 1966.

Vince, the son of a famous wrestling promoter, assumed various roles for his father’s Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The couple founded Titan Sports together in 1980 and acquired his father’s promotion in 1982.

The McMahons dismantled the unwritten rule among wrestling promotions to keep events regional, venturing outside of the Northeast and poaching wrestlers from other companies. The risk proved to be the first major step in what is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, developing into a billion-dollar business.

Linda’s WWE Role

Linda served mostly behind the scenes for the nearly 30 years she was with the WWE. Vince made the creative decisions and played himself in several on-air storylines, while Linda focused on bolstering other points of growth like merchandise sales. She did occasionally appear on television, including when she was on the receiving end of a piledriver from Glenn Jacobs, known in wrestling as Kane, who has served as the Republican mayor of Knox County, Tenn., since 2018.

Trump was the subject of a WWE storyline in 2007, which culminated in a “Battle of the Billionaires” match in Wrestlemania 23, where Trump and Vince were both represented by professional wrestlers in the ring.

One of the biggest scandals during Linda’s tenure with the WWE related to steroids and the health and wellness of wrestlers. The first case came in 1993 when Vince was charged on suspicion of supplying steroids to professional wrestlers. The case was dismissed in July 1994.

The WWE faced a congressional inquiry in 2007 following the murder-suicide of Chris Benoit, who, in the 2000s, was one of the faces of the company. While the inquiry did not lead to a court case, the spotlight was on the WWE to properly implement its wellness program and was a catalyst for many of the changes today, including the ban of the aforementioned piledriver and steel chair shots to the head.

The promotion has also faced several cases involving sexual abuse. Linda was named a defendant in a case filed in October by five former “Ring Boys” who say the McMahons “knowingly allowed” a former ringside announcer to sexually abuse them in the 1990s. 

In 2016, former WWE star Ashley Massaro alleged she was sexually assaulted at a U.S. military base in Iraq during a WWE live show in 2006 when Linda was still with the WWE. Massaro died in 2019, but an affidavit was released in February when she detailed incidents of sexual assault against her during her WWE tenure, particularly by Vince.

In January, a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant alleged “physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking at WWE,” though Linda was no longer with the company during the time frame of the abuse.

Post-WWE

Linda attempted two campaigns for the U.S. Senate seats in Connecticut, but she lost both times. In 2009, she claimed she had a bachelor’s degree in education on a questionnaire for a Connecticut Board of Education role—but it was reported as an error by the Hartford Courant before her first senate campaign.

It was uncovered in 2018 that she had received a degree in French and a teaching certificate from East Carolina University. The longtime Trump supporter was appointed as the head of the Small Business Administration in 2017 during his first term.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Michael Johnson
exclusive

Grand Slam Track Misses Deadline to Pay Athletes $3 Million

The league said it would pay athletes for their Kingston meet Thursday.
NCAA Track

NIL Collectives Can Still Pay College Athletes, With Some Restrictions

NIL collectives will still play a pivotal role in recruiting.

NFL Preseason Getting Earliest Kickoff in 25 Years

The Lions and Chargers face off in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
Mike Repole

Billionaire Mike Repole Taking Ownership Stake in UFL

Repole is the cofounder of Vitaminwater and Body Armor. 

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.

Venezuelan Little League Baseball Team Denied Entry Into U.S.

The Cacique Mara Little League team was not allowed into the country.
[Subscription Customers Only] Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; General view inside the stadium before the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium.
July 15, 2025

New York Pushes for Drone Defense Powers Ahead of 2026 World Cup

“The time for decisive action is now.”
Yucca and Gary Rieschel are donating $10 million to be used to bolster the USOPC’s mental health program. Syndication Westchester County Journal News
July 23, 2025

USOPC Follows Trump Order Banning Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports

The change impacts governing bodies, which extend beyond Olympic competition.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Pam Bondi recognizes family and friends in attendance as she delivers opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on her nomination to be Attorney General of the United States on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
July 9, 2025

DOJ Sues California Over Transgender Athlete Participation

The lawsuit claims the state is in violation of Title IX.
Gianni Infantino
July 8, 2025

FIFA Tightens Trump Ties With Trump Tower Office

Trump and Infantino’s bromance is still kicking.
exclusive
July 8, 2025

Bipartisan Effort Mounts to Repeal Gambling Tax Hike in Trump Bill

The president signed the bill into law last week.
Donald Trump
July 5, 2025

Trump Bill Has $1.6 Billion for Olympics, World Cup Security

Host cities have lobbied for federal funding to help with security costs.