Brett Favre's Defamation Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe Dismissed by Judge
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVOctober 30, 2023
U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, Keith Starrett, dismissed Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe on Monday, according to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.
Sharpe discussed the result on social media:
shannon sharpe @ShannonSharpeThe United States District Court 4 the Southern District of Mississippi 2day dismissed Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against me. The court found the statements were protected by the 1st Amendment 2 the Constitution. Thanks 2 my legal team and their handling of this case. 🙏🏾🙏🏾
In September 2022, Sharpe criticized Favre on FS1's Undisputed, as the former NFL quarterback was one of the defendants in a lawsuit brought forward by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which was seeking $77 million in misappropriated welfare funds.
"'So, if that is the poorest state, Brett Favre is taking from the underserved," Sharpe said during the broadcast. "You made a hundred plus million dollars in the NFL, and to talk about, well, [Favre] 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?' … He stole money from people that really needed that money."
Favre, who hasn't been accused of any crimes and has denied his role in the welfare scandal, sued Sharpe, ESPN personality Pat McAfee and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White for defamation.
Judge Starrett wrote the following in his opinion:
"No reasonable person listening to the broadcast would think that Favre actually went into the homes of poor people and took their money—that he committed the crime of theft/larceny against any particular poor person in Mississippi. Sharpe's comments were made against the backdrop of longstanding media coverage of Favre's role in the welfare scandal and the state's lawsuit against Favre. Listeners would have recognized Sharpe's statements as rhetorical hyperbole."
McAfee said in May that Favre had withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against him without a paid settlement:
Favre acknowledged the settlement:
Favre was allegedly paid $1.1 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds in exchange for making speeches that were never actually performed. Favre paid that money back, though the state is seeking $228,000 in interest.
He also reportedly tried to obtain TANF funding to help build a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2019 while his daughter was on the team. Favre, who also attended the school, made his own financial contributions to the project and helped fundraise.