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Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox Sports host Shannon Sharpe and sports media personality Pat McAfee on Thursday.
According to the Daily Mail, Favre is suing the two media personalities along with Mississippi Auditor Shad White for “defamatory allegations” that the three have made against the Hall of Fame quarterback’s alleged involvement in a $77 million welfare fraud scheme in the state of Mississippi.
“Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee tried to further their careers by making baseless defamatory allegations against Brett Favre,” a spokesperson for the legendary quarterback told the Daily Mail.
Sharpe accused Favre of knowingly taking $1.1 million from Mississippi welfare funds for speeches he never made. And the Fox Sports host also called Favre a “sleazeball.” McAfee was pretty blunt with his thoughts about Favre, and on his program The Pat McAfee Show, he accused the former Green Bay quarterback of “stealing from the poor people of Mississippi.”
Favre’s spokesperson blasted the Mississippi state Auditor too, and told the Daily Mail:
Shad White has done a disservice to the people of Mississippi. Here is some free advice for Shad White: do what state auditors are supposed to do – fix the state’s failure to have controls in place to ensure that it properly safeguards the taxpayers’ money, not smear the reputations of private citizens to serve his own personal and political ambitions.
White, who is also listed in the lawsuit, appeared on HBO’s Real Sports, and he discovered $5 million from the welfare fund called TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families) was given to the University of Southern Mississippi, Favre’s alma mater.
“It is clearly a volleyball court built at a time when Mr. Favre’s daughter is there,” White said to HBO. “And can’t spend money for the poor on something like that.”
Mississippi is currently suing Favre in civil court to recoup funds it says were wrongly spent.
When White’s office was asked for comment by the Daily Mail, a spokesperson for him said:
Everything Auditor White has said about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor. It’s mind giggling 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 the 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.
