When we last heard of Brett Favre, he was embroiled in a massive fraud case regarding improperly distributed TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds in Mississippi.
In a story first reported by Anna Wolfe from Mississippi Today, Favre was given funding meant for needy families in order to build a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi. That’s Favre’s alma mater and where his daughter plays volleyball.
But that wasn’t his first involvement in misused funds.
Favre was paid $1.1 million for motivational speeches in 2017 and 2018, speeches which he never conducted. In that case, the state demanded the money back, plus interest. He’s paid $600,000 but still refuses to pay the interest.
That situation opened the door, exposing a $77 million welfare fraud case involving big names and powerful people like former Governor Phil Bryant, former pro wrestler Ted DiBiase and others.
Yet Favre is the most prominent name involved, so he was ripped when the news dropped.
Mind you, the claims against him weren’t theoretical. Wolfe had the text messages between Favre and Bryant to prove it.
Now, five months after the case made national headlines, Favre is retaliating.
But he’s not paying the state back. Instead, he filed a lawsuit against multiple parties for defamation of character.
In the lawsuit filed Thursday morning, Favre is suing state Auditor Shad White and sports personalities Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee for, get this- defaming his character.
“Shad White, the State Auditor of Mississippi, has carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations against Brett Favre — the Hall of Fame quarterback and native son of Mississippi — in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre’s celebrity to further his own political career,” reads Favre’s complaint.
“By shamelessly and falsely attacking Favre’s good name, White has gained national media attention he previously could have only dreamed of, including appearances on television shows on CNN and HBO, a popular ESPN podcast, as well as interviews for print and online media,” continued his complaint. “None of these national media outlets would have paid White the slightest attention had he not been attacking Favre. White himself acknowledged this, admitting that his own wife was “shocked” by his appearance on the ESPN Daily Podcast.”
White is the auditor who first unraveled the fraud scheme. And he’s a Republican like Bryant and current Governor Tate Reeves.
Continue reading over at First and Pen.
This content has been brought to you by First and Pen in partnership with TheHub.News. First and Pen “amplifies local sports stories from voices of color to the national conscience…”
