Brett Favre, the Hall of Famer, filed a defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe, Pat McAfee, and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White in February.
According to A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports, the federal judge has dismissed Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.
In response to Favre’s suspected involvement in the Mississippi welfare fraud case, Sharpe mentioned on “FS1’s Undisputed” that he (Favre) “stole money from people that really needed that money,”.
The judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Keith Starrett, approved the move to “dismiss with prejudice”, further preventing Favre from refining the case. The reason cited was Sharpe’s protection under the First Amendment.
A federal judge has dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe and Pat McAfee were sued over comments about Favre’s ties to the Mississippi welfare scandal.@byajperez has more ⤵️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 31, 2023
According to Front Office Sports, “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.”
Pat McAfee was also sued by Favre and without a financial settlement, the matter was dropped as McAfee provided clarity on his comments.
According to Pro Football Talk, McAfee in regards to Favre said, “As many of you know, Brett Favre sued me over statements over him that I made about him on this program,”
“As I confirmed in my court papers and I repeat here, my statements expressed in comedic style were based solely on public statements and allegations.
“As I have previously stated, I respect the hell out of Brett Favre the football player and his Hall of Fame career on the field, and I have no personal knowledge about any case involving Brett in Mississippi.
“I am pleased to report that based solely on me again clarifying these points now, with no settlement paid, Brett is withdrawing his suit against me.”
Favre is still under scrutiny in light of a civil lawsuit that is still pending and his role in the welfare scam.
Subsequently, he is scheduled to testify in December.
