Accusing the state auditor and two national sportscasters of defaming him in conversations about the misuse of welfare funds intended to aid some of the most vulnerable citizens in one of the nation’s poorest states,
retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits on Thursday in Mississippi. According to the lawsuit filed against Mississippi Auditor Shad White, the Republican “has carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations against Brett Favre, the Hall of Fame quarterback, in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre’s celebrity to further his own political career.”
Shannon Sharpe, a former NFL player, was the target of a separate lawsuit in which Brett Favre claimed that Sharpe had made “egregiously false” claims about him. Favre “stole money from those that truly needed money,” according to the talk show “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.”
Additionally, Favre claimed in a separate lawsuit he filed against retired NFL player Pat McAfee that McAfee had made “outrageous falsehoods” about him, including calling him a “thief” who was “taking from underprivileged people in Mississippi.” Favre is one of more than three dozen people or businesses the state of Mississippi is suing to try to recover money that was misappropriated via the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programme, although he is not charged criminally in the Mississippi welfare scam.
The charity organisation that paid Favre $1.1 million in speaking fees used TANF funds after receiving permission from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. White claimed that Favre failed to appear for the talks.
A new demand of up to $5 million was made against Favre and a university sports foundation by the state Department of Human Services in December. They claimed that welfare funds were fraudulently utilised to fund a volleyball facility at Favre’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. In 2017, Favre’s daughter began playing volleyball at the college. The retired quarterback agreed to take the initiative in organising funds for the volleyball facility because it was a passion project of his.
Brett Favre
Exchanges between Favre and others concerning moving funds from a nonprofit group with Department of Human Services contracts to the volleyball facility are documented in earlier documents in the state’s civil action. The Associated Press left phone messages for Sharpe and an email for a McAfee representative. Asking about the slander lawsuits on Thursday. They didn’t answer right away.
In the lawsuit he filed against the auditor on Thursday, Favre claims that White has been “shamelessly and falsely attacking Favre’s good name” in order to draw attention to himself. White is accused of doing this through appearances on CNN and HBO television programmes, a well-known ESPN podcast, as well as interviews with print and online media. If White hadn’t been criticizing Favre, none of these major media sources would have given him the slightest attention.
“Everything Auditor White has said about this issue is true and is supported by years of audit work by the experts at the Office of the State Auditor,” said Fletcher Freeman, a spokesperson for White. It is astounding that Mr. Favre wants to hold a trial to address that issue. Additionally, Freeman claimed that Favre phoned White and the Despite paying back some of the money the auditor’s office sought from him, the auditor’s staff is a bunch of liars.
He has also insisted that the auditors are lying despite abundant documentation demonstrating that he benefited from improperly spent money, according to Freeman. “He’d be better off paying back the full amount of assistance monies he owes the state instead of engaging New York litigators to try this case.”