Brett Favre suing Pat McAfee, Shannon Sharpe over welfare fraud scheme coverage
GREEN BAY, WI – OCTOBER 16: Former NFL quarterback Brett Farve looks on as he is inducted into the Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony during the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on October 16, 2016 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Cowboys defeated the Packers 30-16. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre has filed defamation lawsuits against Fox Sports commentator Shannon Sharpe and popular radio host Pat McAfee.
Once vilified in a highly publicized welfare scandal, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre is now trying to clear his name.
Three months after the Mississippi state department sued Favre for his alleged role in a $77 million welfare fraud scheme, Favre is going after a state auditor and two high-profile NFL celebrities for spreading lies about his character.
On Thursday, Favre reportedly filed lawsuits against Mississippi state auditor Shad White, Shannon Sharpe, and Pat McAfee, claiming the trio made false and malicious statements about Favre and tainted his “good name”.
Back in 2020, Favre was accused of stealing money from Mississippi’s poor population in a welfare fraud scheme with both Sharpe and McAfee attacking him from their respective platforms.
On an episode of Fox Sports’ “Skip And Shannon: Undisputed” in September of 2020, Sharpe angrily berated Favre and said, “You got to be a sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low.”
Retired Green Bay Packers star Brett Favre is suing ex-NFL players for defamation of character
In a similar vein, Pat McAfee tore Favre apart on an episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” in which the former Indianapolis Colts punter declared that Favre “tied the hands of the poor people and took money from right out of their pockets.”
Sharpe’s and McAfee’s disparaging comments on Favre came after a bombshell Mississippi Today report that included an excerpt of Favre’s suspect text messages: “Is there any way the media can find out where [the funds] came from and how much?”
Favre did not end up facing criminal charges in the welfare scandal, but he was among more than three dozen people or businesses the state is suing in an attempt to recover money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
McAfee has since responded to Favre’s lawsuit with a comical gif from “Chappelle’s Show.”
