Late last week, Brett Favre didn’t receive any hometown love from Mississippi’s Supreme Court as it ruled it would not remove him from the civil lawsuit involving the massive welfare scandal in the state.
A panel of three judges made the decision to deny Favre’s appeal.
Last year, in what Mississippi Today described as “the biggest public fraud case in state history”, at least $77 million in funds meant to help the needy in the state were “misspent” on other things. That included “at least $5 million” for a new volleyball stadium at Southern Mississippi that was championed by Brett Favre.
Southern Miss is Favre’s alma mater and also where his daughter played volleyball.
As more details were revealed involving the fraudulent use of TANF welfare funds (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), others became connected to the scandal including former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, then-Lt. Governor Reeves (now the state’s governor), former state welfare director John Davis and Nancy New, founder of the Mississippi Community Education Center.
But none was bigger nationally than Favre.
The Hall of Fame QB vehemently denied he stole any money and claimed innocence when asked about his knowledge of the fund’s origins. Even after text messages between him, Bryant and New were released, Favre maintained his innocence.
He even retaliated by suing a number of individuals including the state’s auditor Shad White, and media personalities Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee, accusing them of besmirching his name.
“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.
In May, Favre withdrew his suit against McAfee but the claims against Sharpe and White continue.
While he was launching a counter-offensive, his own defense took back-to-back hits.
In April, Hinds Country Circuit Judge Faye Peterson denied Favre’s request to be removed from the lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Afterward, he filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court.
His legal team called the suit “utterly meritless,” in their appeal, but last week the Supreme Court shot it all down, which means that Favre will remain on the lawsuit along with almost 40 other people.
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