Brett Favre vs. Pat McAfee defamation case: Hall of Fame QB loses home-field advantage
Hall of Famer Brett Favre has been embroiled in the $77 million Mississippi welfare scandal for years. Earlier this year, Favre sued Pat McAfee and Shannon Sharpe for defamation, following comments that each host made regarding the fraud scandal. Per a new report, there is another significant defamation case update.
McAfee, whose case was filed in Lamar County, Mississippi, had his case removed from state court to federal court on Friday, March 24. This indicates that Favre sued Sharpe and McAfee separately.
Brett Favre’s lawyer today on @CrainCompany:
“@ShannonSharpe has been real quiet since this lawsuit dropped & @PatMcAfeeShow is building the case against himself.”
👀👀👀
https://t.co/QnCPkph3gs
Furthermore, reports state that this was McAfee's move, considering Favre is from Mississippi and continues to live in Lamar County. McAffee, who is a Pennyslvania native, is an out-of-state defendant.
If the plaintiff is asking for over $75,000, the law allows the case to be removed to the federal court.
“Well, I guarantee you the jury in Mississippi will make certain he learns how to apologize,” Eric Herschmann (Favre's attorney) said. “It’s going to cost Pat McAfee millions of dollars, and if it bankrupts him, then he will have learned his lesson.”
That being said, Favre's case does not specify an amount in dollars.
Shannon Sharpe also removed Brett Favre's lawsuit to federal court
A few days ago, Sharpe removed Favre's case from the local state court to a federal Mississippi court.
Update: Shannon Sharpe has removed Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit to federal court. He filed a Notice of Removal yesterday in the Southern District of Mississippi. The case is assigned to Senior Judge Keith Starrett, whose chambers are in Hattiesburg. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Sharpe's Notice of Removal was filed at the Southern District of Mississippi. Additionally, the case has been assigned to Judge Keith Starrett.
Mississippi state auditor Shad White, who was also sued with McAfee and Sharpe, recently shared new text messages about Favre and his case.
The filing reads:
"Favre asked, 'Would this solve the brick and mortar issue?'... Again, Favre knew that grant funds could not be used for brick and mortar construction, but he sought to secretly obtain those funds for that purpose anyway.
"He asked, 'Will the public perception be that I became a spokesperson for various state-funded shelters, schools, homes, etc.... and was compensated with state money? Or can we keep this confidential?'"
In 2021, Brett Favre refuted the claims on Twitter:
As I have said before, I would never accept money for no-show appearances, as the state of Mississippi auditor, @ShadWhite, claims.
The welfare fraud case involved Favre reportedly asking then-Mississippi governor Phil Bryant to fund a new volleyball stadium at Southern Mississippi. Text messages exchanged between Favre and MCEC founder Nancy New showed the former athlete express concern about the money's source.
New assured him that it would be fine.
The money, per reports, was from the state's welfare fund.