Glenn Jacobs Accused Of Intimidating Knox County Official In Recently Settled Lawsuit
For years, "that's got to be Kane!" was a phrase best remembered for when Glenn Jacobs made his debut as Kane at WWE Bad Blood in 1997. These days, it's the go-to phrase for whenever a former pro wrestler is involved in a political controversy. While Jacobs is far from the only wrestler to be involved in politics, his position as mayor of Knox County, Tenn., makes the WWE Hall of Famer one of the most notable, especially when his actions have drawn the ire of other wrestlers. His latest scandal seems destined to do that as well.
Knox News revealed yesterday that a recently settled, 134-page lawsuit filed against the county by its former parks and recreation director, Paul White, alleged that Jacobs had asked county employees to do maintenance work on his home while they were on the clock. Jacobs was also accused of pressuring White to lie when questioned by state investigators regarding illegal use of a golf cart, and then pounded a desk and cursed at White when he refused to lie.
Initially, the scandal was only tied into the illegal use of the golf cart, which Knox County paid over $3,000 for before delivering it directly to Jacobs' then-chief of staff, Bryan Hair. Knox News noted that the investigation was started by Pugh CPA, an accounting firm.
Political Wrestling Scandal? That's Gotta Be Kane!
The investigation quickly took a turn from the simple story of the golf cart. From that investigation came the allegations of work being done on the homes of Hair, White, and later Jacobs himself.
The maintenance work in question revolved around the removal of a snake from Jacobs' home on June 22, 2020 by county workers. The lawsuit alleged, and contained evidence in the form of text messages, that White and several other parks and recreation workers spent several hours removing the snake from Jacobs' home while they were supposed to be working county hours. Jacobs' wife, Crystal, had tweeted a photo of the snake the day it was removed, though she later deleted the photo.
It should be noted that Knox County has claimed that the work was done on the workers' lunch hour, and thus didn't occur on county time. County spokesperson Abbey Harris denied all the accusations in White's suit, and provided text messages to Knox News that appeared to refute his claims, while Knox County deputy lawyers claimed to Knox News that no laws were broken. Jacobs has not commented on the lawsuit.