Fox News is reporting that Brett Farve is suing Pat McAfee for “defamatory allegations” that were levied against him by the former NFL punter, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe for being connected to the Mississippi welfare scandal that saw the state sue 38 parties in an attempt to recoup $24 million of a total of $77 million in welfare money.
The Ted DiBiase family is among the 38 parties who were part of the civil complaint filed. The complaint targeted those families and individuals who were alleged to have been the recipients of or were responsible for the misspent funds.
Favre helped raise the welfare money as part of a volleyball wellness center at the University of Southern Mississippi, the same facility which received a $5 million grant from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). However, this was not allowed under the state rules.
Favre received $1.1 million for fundraising. Although he later returned the huge sum of money, he has has yet to pay back the interest. The unpaid interest makes Favre a party to the lawsuit. Favre has denied knowledge of the funds designated for welfare recipients going to the university or to him. He has not been criminally charged to date.
In the lawsuit, Favre accused White — who originally discovered the misspending and fraud — of having “carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations” against him in an attempt to gain national exposure and media attention. Favre also alleged in a separate complaint that McAfee said of Favre:
“Every time [Favre’s] name gets brought up, we have to mention that he tied the hands of the poor people and took money right out of their pockets… [Favre is] certainly in the middle of stealing from poor people in Mississippi right now.”
Sharpe is also the subject of his own complaint in which Favre alleges that the former NFL player “stole money from the people that really needed that money.”
Favre’s representative told the Daily Mail:
‘Today, Brett Favre has sued [Sharpe and McAfee]. Mr. Favre has spent his retirement from the NFL focused, on, among other things, helping people suffering from concussions. Sadly, Shannon and Pat have decided to spend their time making false public statements against Brett.’
