Vincent K. McMahon, the "Chairman of the Board" of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), told a rowdy crowd in Ames Courtroom at Harvard Law School (HLS) yesterday that his travails as a wrestling mogul have given him a crash course on the First Amendment.

McMahon spoke candidly on subjects ranging from the way his "performers" behave in the ring to his competition with Ted Turner to his unhappy childhood in North Carolina.

"My background is a bit checkered," the 54-year-old McMahon said. He said he was physically beaten by several step-fathers.

"[By] the number of beatings I received as a child, you would have though that it'd just stop [being outspoken] but I had to speak my mind,' he said.

McMahon's father, Vince Sr., was a successful promoter of staged shows in the Northeast. In 1982, McMahon bought his father's wrestling promotion company and turned it into Titan Sports.

McMahon presided over wrestling's renaissance in the 1980s, making Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and Randy "The Macho Man" Savage into household names.

However, McMahon said, "with success comes scrutiny."

He said New York Daily News columnist Phil Mushnick "began to write a number of things that were totally untrue" and damaging to his reputation, McMahon said.

Among them, according to McMahon: Mushnick's accusation that the WWF was saturated with steroid users and that McMahon himself had been associated with child molesters.

In 1993, McMahon and Titan Sports were indicted by the federal government on charges they helped distribute steroids. After a trial in 1994, McMohan and Titan were found innocent.

Building to the high point of his speech, McMahon talked about his frustration at being harassed with requests for a plea bargain. He said he chose to challenge the government, which eventually lead to his acquittal.

McMahon said he told the government that he had to stick by his principles--"[I told them to] fuck off," he said.

The crowd roared in response.

In more recent years, McMahon has fought a battle for ratings with rival wrestling promoter and media king Ted

Turner. In 1995, Turner began to assert controlover World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the othermajor wrestling “league."

Recounting what happened in 1995, McMahon said,"Ted has...the resources. Ted decides he wants tocompete with us. I lose."

Longtime WWF superstars like Hogan and Savagejumped ship to the WCW.

To strike back at his competition, McMahonsaid, he began lampooning Turner and the WCW ofweekly WWF programming.

"We think WCW sucks," he said.

Turner promptly used the WWF for disparaginghis reputation. That suit is still spending.

"As far as the First Amendment is concerned, Ithink Mr. Turner is going have to go to school,"McMahon said to a roaring crowd.

For an auditorium that normally features Augustscholars of law, McMahon's performance seemedalmost surreal.

As soon as McMahon entered the room, theaudience, predominantly male and made up of HLSand College students, began to chant "asshole."

McMahon has recently become a villainouscharacter in the "drama" of WWF wrestling. Sincetaking on this evil persona, this chant is whatfans greet him with in arenas across the country.

Crowd members held up signs with wrestlingslogans. At least one fan was dressed head-to-toein red tights.

McMahon said he prefers to call the WWF'sperformances "entertainment," admitting openlythat the bouts were scripted and the drama wasfake.

McMahon said last night that his wrestlers havewide latitude to develop their characters.

In the past several years, professionalwrestling shows have become some of the mostpopular programs on cable television.

Critics say McMahon has purposely saturated hisprograms with sex and violence to lure young teensto the stands.

For instance, during a halftime commercial forthe WWF during the Super Bowl, a male wrestler anda female companion appeared in a sexuallysuggestive position.

The WWF even has a resident porn star, awrestler whose stage name is Val Venis.

Turner's WCW, meanwhile, has pledged to avoidsensational sex and extreme violence in itsprogramming.

The WWF and WCW go head-to-head every Mondaynight with two to three hours of live programming.Most of it is scripted drama.

Responding to a fan's request that his WWF showmore wrestling and less melodrama last night,McMahon said, "You have to give the public whatthey want.