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Brett Favre Appeals Court To Revive Defamation Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe: Report
Brett Favre is seeking to appeal to the court to reinstate his defamation action against Shannon Sharpe, which he brought during the Mississippi welfare corruption scandal.
The well-known Mississippi welfare scandal involving retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is back in the news today, but this time it also involves Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former tight end Shannon Sharpe.
Brett Favre's lawyers will petition a federal appeals court on Tuesday to revive a defamation lawsuit he filed against Shannon Sharpe amidst the Mississippi welfare scandal, one of the state's largest public corruption cases.
Brett Fevre to reinstate the defamation case against Shannon Sharpe
According to the Associated Press, Brett Fevre wants to revive the defamation action against Shannon Sharpe for what he stated about Fevre's Mississippi Welfare corruption case.
In September 2022, Sharpe made the following statements on Fox Sports' Skip and Shannon: Undisputed: Favre was "taking from the underserved," "stole money from people who really needed that money," and it would take a terrible person "to steal from the lowest of the low."
In October of the same year, a federal court in Mississippi dismissed the lawsuit, claiming Sharpe used constitutionally free expression during a sports broadcast to attack Favre's involvement in the welfare misspending case.
Amit Vora, the attorney for Favre, convinced the judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that the case ought to be reopened because Sharpe had falsely accused the uncharged athlete of larceny.
Vora said, “Given that the reasonable listener interprets the word "steal" literally rather than figuratively, that constitutes actionable defamation."
In October, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett ruled that Sharpe's remarks regarding the case qualified as "rhetorical hyperbole," which is protected by the Constitution.
According to Starrett, “It is irrational for anyone to listen to the show and think that Favre went around robbing the needy of their money or that he stole anything from any particular Mississippian poor person.”
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Brett Fevre’s multimillion-dollar corruption case
As per ESPN, Brett Favre, a Mississippi native, became involved in the greatest case of public fraud in state history. The Hall of Fame quarterback is one of three dozen individuals or corporations being sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
Mississippi State Auditor Shad White believes that between 2016 and 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services misused more than $77 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which was designed to help some of the country's poorest citizens.
A volleyball court constructed in 2019 at Favre's alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, is at the center of the disagreement between MDHS and Favre. During his daughter's playing days, Favre pressured state officials for funding, as evidenced by text conversations that have been made public in the civil complaint. Favre also donated his own money and assisted in raising funds for the facility.
White's investigation revealed, among other things, that Favre had fraudulently earned $1.1 million in speaking fees from a charity that had authorized the use of TANF funds with the Department of Human Services. The funds were intended to be used for a $5 million volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Although Favre has returned $1.1 million of his debt, White claimed in a court document from February that the former quarterback still owes $729,790 since interest increased the initial sum he owed.
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