WWE veteran Kane (Glenn Jacobs) was officially sworn in as Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee earlier today. The ceremony took place in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building in Knoxville, TN.
Running as a Republican, the former WWE Champion defeated Democratic candidate Linda Haney back in the summer with 43,526 votes (66% of the vote), compared to Haney’s 22,295 votes (34% of the vote). Kane ran as a Republican but he has identified as a Libertarian for several years.
A Pennsylvania man named Al Thompson, who is the founder of the Protect Our Youth from Steroids (POYS) organization, filed a complaint with the Tennessee Attorney General and the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics & Finance on Tuesday, alleging that Kane profited off steroids. KnoxNews.com reports that Thompson’s letter tried to connect Kane to WWE’s “rampant steroid use,” claiming that “Jacobs was perfectly fine with, for many years, surrounding himself with steroid users plus illicit drug and steroid dealers every day while on tour … Jacobs’ duties, as I understand it, will include some oversight over law enforcement in Knox County.”
KnoxNews.com confirmed that Kane’s new job includes no oversight of the day-to-day operations of the sheriff’s office. Kane spoke with News Sentinel in Tennessee and denied any steroid use.
“I do not condone steroid use or the use of any illicit drugs,” Kane said. “I think that’s very bad. I’m a bit of a health nut, and I just think it’s just really bad. No, I’d never do that.”
Thompson’s letter also said the use of the “Kane” name in WWE should have been listed as a campaign donation, and that Jacobs supports steroids because he accepted a $6,000 campaign contribution from various people in WWE, including Vince McMahon and wife Linda McMahon. Kane told News Sentinel that he is proud to have the support of the McMahon family.
He said, “Well, one of (those donations) was from the administrator of the Small Business Administration of the United States (McMahon’s wife, Linda). So, I’m pretty proud of that … it’s always nice when someone from the President’s Cabinet supports your political endeavor. I’m just very happy and proud to have their support, that’s what matters to me.”
There’s no word yet on when The Big Red Machine may return to WWE. He last appeared at Extreme Rules in July after the short reunion of Team Hell No with Daniel Bryan. Kane was written out of the storylines due to an Achilles injury that he suffered on the final SmackDown before Extreme Rules. Kane did not rule out a ring return to the News Sentinel and said he “could” wrestle again. He also said he’s focused on bringing a WWE pay-per-view event to Knoxville, but he has not talked with WWE officials about it.
Kane held a staff meeting earlier this week to try and get the various department heads on the same page. Below is a tweet from his first day on the job:
Hard at work on my first day in office… pic.twitter.com/hjh678i53T
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) August 31, 2018
