Brett Favre’s lawsuit was formally dismissed by a federal judge against Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe. Fox Sports and CBS Sports analyst Sharpe had expressed his opinions over Favre’s involvement in the Mississippi scandal.
Favre, along with Sharpe, sued Pat McAfee and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White in February, stating that they made “false and defamatory statements” regarding Favre’s involvement in the scandal.
According to Front Office Sports, the scandal became one of the biggest public corruption in the history of Mississippi. McAfee’s lawsuit was settled later with “with no settlement paid.”
Sharpe expressed on his Nightcap podcast with Chad Johnson that, “Pat McAfee issued an apology,”
“Me, I wasn’t going to issue an apology because if I had issued an apology, I would have felt I had done something wrong. He wouldn’t have apologized if he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.”
NEWS: Brett Favre will appeal a federal judge's decision to dismiss the defamation lawsuit he filed against Shannon Sharpe. The notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit was filed tonight. https://t.co/usBYTN2ypL
— A.J. Perez (@byajperez) November 30, 2023
According to A.J. Perez of FOS, “NEWS: Brett Favre will appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss the defamation lawsuit he filed against Shannon Sharpe. The notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit was filed tonight,”
Keith Starrett, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District, shared that the comments made by the analyst are protected under the First Amendment. Further, the opinion that this motion should be dispersed with prejudice. However, Favre would not be able to refile the case.
Starret said, “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.”
