Brett Favre, the NFL legend who has grow to be publicly ensnared within the sprawling Mississippi welfare scandal, sued state Auditor Shad White and nationwide sports activities media figures Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee for defamation.
White, whose investigation of welfare misspending led to 2020 felony fees of six individuals, is among the most distinguished officers to publicly focus on the scandal. Several instances in current months, White has criticized Favre’s involvement within the scandal and even obtained right into a tense social media back-and-forth with the Hall of Fame quarterback.
Attorneys for Favre, who has not been charged with any crime associated to the scandal, argued within the new lawsuit that White has “made egregiously false and defamatory statements” in a number of media appearances.
“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 grievance, filed in Hinds County Circuit Court on Feb. 9.
Favre’s grievance towards White continues: “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. 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 look on the ESPN Daily Podcast.”
Favre additionally specifies that he’s suing White, not the state of Mississippi, and that he’s searching for damages from White as a person, not from Mississippi taxpayers.
White’s workplace launched an announcement shortly after the lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
”Everything Auditor White has mentioned about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals on the Office of the State Auditor,” White’s spokesman Fletcher Freeman mentioned. “It’s mind-boggling that Mr. Favre wants to have a trial about that question. Mr. Favre has called Auditor White and his team liars despite repaying some of the money our office demanded from him. He’s also claimed the auditors are liars despite clear documentary evidence showing he benefitted from misspent funds. Instead of paying New York litigators to try this case, he’d be better off fully repaying the amount of welfare funds he owes the state.”
Favre additionally sued media figures Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee, who every have standard nationwide platforms to debate sports activities information and evaluation, for defamation.
“You got to be a sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low,” Sharpe mentioned on his tv present “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” on Sept. 14, the day after Mississippi Today broke a narrative revealing that when Favre mentioned receiving funding from a welfare-funded nonprofit director, he requested if the general public would discover out.
“Mississippi is the poorest state in our country — its citizens,” Sharpe continued. “So if they’re the poorest state, Brett Favre is taking from the underserved. You made $100 plus million in the NFL. And to talk about, ‘Well, he didn’t know.’ This is what Brett Favre texted: ‘If you were to pay me, is there any way the media can find out where it came from and how much?’ If you’ve got to ask this question, ‘Is there any way the media can find out?’, you already know you’re doing something wrong.”
Mississippi Today’s 2022 “The Backchannel” investigation revealed how Favre obtained welfare funds for a number of tasks, together with funding for his startup pharmaceutical firm.
Never-before-seen textual content messages confirmed former Gov. Phil Bryant mentioned Favre’s proposal to build a brand new volleyball stadium — building in the end funded with welfare funds. Prosecutors have referred to as the challenge a scheme to defraud the federal government.
Mississippi Today’s reporting discovered that Favre traded on his personal fame and connections to safe a monetary bailout from the state of Mississippi.
In the course of Favre’s dealings with state officers on behalf of the pharmaceutical enterprise or the volleyball stadium, Favre proposed: giving Bryant and nonprofit founder Nancy New shares within the firm in alternate for his or her assist; shopping for the previous welfare director John Davis a F-150 Raptor; and convincing New and Davis to repay a greater than $1 million dedication he made to USM.
READ MORE: ‘You stuck your neck out for me’: Brett Favre used fame and favors to tug welfare {dollars}
Favre himself obtained a $1.1 million cost from the welfare-funded charity underneath a obscure promotional gig, which White claims included occasion appearances that Favre by no means attended. Favre has since returned the funds.
In addition to the brand new defamation swimsuit, Favre continues to battle civil fees Mississippi Department of Human Services has filed towards him and several other others in an try to recoup the misspent welfare funds. The swimsuit alleges Favre ought to be on the hook for over $7 million that he allegedly helped funnel away from individuals in poverty.
Click right here to learn Favre’s lawsuit towards Auditor Shad White.
Click right here to learn Favre’s lawsuit towards Shannon Sharpe.
Click right here to learn Favre’s lawsuit towards Pat McAfee.
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