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 an episode of Fox Sports’ ‘Undisputed’ in 2022, which criticized Favre’s connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi. Favre characterized the comments as ‘egregiously false.’
But a judge dismissed the case Monday, ruling that the Hall of Famer’s comments are protected under the US Constitution.
US District Judge Keith Starrett ruled that Sharpe was using ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ in saying on air that Favre was ‘taking from the underserved,’ that the former quarterback ‘stole money from people that really needed that money’ and that someone would have to be a sorry 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 Undisputed show in June.
Brett Favre sued Shannon Sharpe for defamation in February over comments he made on TV
A judge dismissed the case, ruling Sharpe’s comments are protected under US Constitution
Discussion of Mississippi welfare spending on ‘Undisputed’ took place after extensive news coverage about 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 that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the US.
Prosecutors have said the department gave money to nonprofit organizations that spent it on projects favored by wealthy and well-connected people, such as a $5 million volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project for which Favre agreed to raise money.
Starrett wrote in his ruling Monday that Sharpe’s references to ‘taking’ and ‘stole’ referred to diverting TANF money ‘for purposes other than helping the underprivileged.’
‘Similarly, Sharpe’s use of the words “people that really needed that money,” the “lowest of the low,” and “the underserved,” again are examples of protected, colorful speech referring to needy families in Mississippi,’ the judge wrote.
‘Here, 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,’ Starrett wrote.
Monday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sharpe noted the dismissal of the lawsuit and thanked his legal team for handling the case.
‘The 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,’ Sharpe wrote, with two prayer hands emojis.
Favre agreed to raise funds for a volleyball gym 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 punter who now hosts a popular SiriusXM podcast, after he accused 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 claimed Favre knew the origin of the welfare funds. The lawsuit against White is still pending.
Favre has not been charged in the case and has repaid $1.1 million he received for speaking fees from a nonprofit group 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 made a new demand of 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 at the university in 2017. Filings in the state´s civil lawsuit show text message exchanges between Favre and others about directing money to the volleyball facility from a nonprofit organization that had Department of Human Services contracts.
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