Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe is dismissed
Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against former tight end and sports media personality Shannon Sharpe has been dismissed.
Green Bay Packers legend Favre sued Shannon over comments he made during a 2022 episode of Fox Sports’ “Undisputed” that criticized Favre’s connection to a welfare misspent case in Mississippi. Favre characterized the comments as “extremely false.”
But a judge dismissed the case Monday, ruling that the Hall of Famer’s comments are protected under the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett ruled that Sharpe used “rhetorical hyperbole” when he said on air that Favre was “taking from the less fortunate,” that the former quarterback “stole money from people who really needed that money” and that someone should doing. a repentant person ‘to steal from the lowest of the low.’
The Hall of Fame quarterback sued Sharpe in February, along with another TV host, Pat McAfee. The case was moved to federal court in March and Sharpe left The Undisputed Show in June.
Brett Favre sued Shannon Sharpe in February for defamation over comments he made on TV
A judge dismissed the case, ruling that Sharpe’s comments are protected under the U.S. Constitution
The discussion of Mississippi’s social spending in “Undisputed” came after extensive reporting on the allegations of Mississippi’s largest public corruption case.
Mississippi Auditor Shad White has said that from 2016 to 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services misspent more than $77 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — money intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. to help.
Prosecutors have said the department gave money to nonprofits that spent it on projects favored by wealthy, well-connected people, such as a $5 million volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project Favre agreed to collect money.
Starrett wrote in his ruling Monday that Sharpe’s references to “taking” and “stealing” referred to diverting TANF money “for purposes other than helping the disadvantaged.”
“Similarly, Sharpe’s use of the words ‘people who really needed that money,’ ‘the lowest of the low,’ and ‘the disadvantaged’ are yet another example of sheltered, colorful speeches referring to needy families in Mississippi,” the wrote right. .
“Here, no reasonable person listening to the broadcast would think that Favre actually went into poor people’s homes and took their money – that he committed the crime of theft/theft against a certain poor person in Mississippi,” Starrett wrote.
On Monday evening, Sharpe noted on X, formerly known as Twitter, the lawsuit’s dismissal and thanked his legal team for handling the case.
“The United States District Court 4, Southern District of Mississippi, has dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against me. The court ruled that the statements were protected by the First Amendment 2 of the Constitution. Thank you to my legal team and their handling of this case,” Sharpe wrote, with two prayer hand emojis.
Favre agreed to raise money for a volleyball academy at Southern Miss, his alma mater
Favre withdrew his defamation lawsuit against ESPN host Pat McAfee (left) earlier this year
Favre also sued McAfee, a former Colts gambler who now hosts a popular SiriusXM podcast, after accusing the former signal caller of “stealing from the poor people of Mississippi.”
Favre ended his lawsuit against McAfee in May after McAfee apologized for on-air statements.
He also filed a lawsuit against White, who alleged that Favre knew the origins of the welfare funds. The lawsuit against White is still ongoing.
Favre has not been charged in the case and has repaid $1.1 million he received for speaking fees from a nonprofit that spent TANF money with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. White said Favre never showed up to give the speeches.
In December, the department filed a new demand for up to $5 million against Favre and a university sports foundation, saying welfare money was improperly used to pay for a volleyball arena at Favre’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
Favre’s daughter started playing volleyball in college in 2017. Records in the state’s civil lawsuit show that text messages were exchanged between Favre and others about routing money to the volleyball facility of a nonprofit that had contracts with the Department of Human Services.