Brett Favre scandal: SiriusXM suspends show with Packers QB over alleged welfare fraud
The latest welfare scandal involving Green Bay Packers great Brett Favre has taken the NFL world by storm. According to multiple reports, Favre's SiriusXM show The SiriusXM Blitz With Brett Favre and Bruce Murray has been suspended.
The former NFL quarterback's alleged involvement in the Mississippi welfare fraud scandal has reportedly forced brands and organizations to take a step back and distance themselves. Just days ago, ESPN Milwaukee suspended his weekly Packers recap program, The Brett Favre Show, as per NBC Sports. Other organizations like the Good Karma Brands and Hallow, a Catholic prayer app, and Odyssey Health, a medical technology company, have quietly cut ties with the former Packers quarterback after public outrage.
Favre has been an integral part of SiriusXM's NFL show since 2018, with its most recent episode published on 13 September.
Brett Favre scandal: Packers QB reportedly misused state welfare funds
The Mississippi Department of Human Services has sued Brett Favre and 37 other individuals and organizations for allegedly misusing state welfare funds for their own personal endeavors. The lawsuit alleges misappropriation of funds that were supposed to be for the alleviation of poverty in the state.
It all started when a Mississippi auditor alleged that nearly $77 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare funds were funneled elsewhere. The auditor linked the funds to Favre, former WWE star Ted DiBiase, and former college football star Marcus Dupree. The funds were expected to help needy families in the country's poorest state.
The Hall of Famer re-routed $5 million in funds to the construction of a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi — where his daughter Breleigh is a volleyball player. Phil Bryant, the Governor of Mississippi, allegedly helped Favre with the necessary funds for his volleyball center. Mississippi Today News posted alleged text messages that show Favre getting paid for no-show speeches as a way to get more money for the volleyball project.
Brett Favre: Will the media find out that we're using welfare funds intended to help the poorest residents of America's poorest state to build a volleyball center?
Nancy New: Nah. Oh yeah, the governor is fully on board!
@ayewolfe five years later:
mississippitoday.org/2022/09/13/phi… https://t.co/wo3QuIYXaY
The FBI also interviewed him over the reported $1 million he was paid by the state of Mississippi for motivational speeches he never delivered.
Favre is yet to be charged with anything as investigations are ongoing. The 53-year-old has denied involvement in any kind of fraud, claiming that he never received money for obligations he didn’t meet. He maintained that his foundation has made a contribution of nearly $10 million to unfortunate children in Mississippi and Wisconsin. This is a developing story and only time will tell whether Favre serves prison time or a hefty fine.