Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against former NFL punter turned popular podcast host Pat McAfee tied to comments made about his role in the largest public fraud scheme in Mississippi history.
McAfee announced at the beginning of Thursday’s episode of his podcast, The Pat McAfee Show, that Favre decided to withdraw the lawsuit after the former punter clarified that his motive behind the comments was to be humorous in nature and not based on any actual knowledge of the ongoing investigation.
“As many of you know, Brett Favre sued me over statements over him that I made about him on this program,” McAfee said. “As I confirmed in my court papers and I repeat here, my statements expressed in comedic style were based solely on public statements and allegations. As I have previously stated, I respect the hell out of Brett Favre the football player and his Hall of Fame career on the field, and I have no personal knowledge about any case involving Brett in Mississippi.”
Favre, a native of Kiln, commented on the matter on Twitter Thursday morning:
I’m happy that Pat McAfee and I have settled this litigation. Like Pat said, he was attempting to be funny and not commenting based on any personal knowledge. We’d both much rather talk about football.
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) May 11, 2023
McAfee, who said no monetary settlement will be paid, was joined by NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe as well as Mississippi State Auditor Shad White in the defamation suit. White is accused of capitalizing on an opportunity to gain notoriety from national media outlets by misleading the public about Favre’s alleged role in the welfare scandal.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services rescinded its $1.1 million demand from Favre after he reportedly repaid the funds in December. The department then issued a $5 million demand while accusing the retired quarterback of deliberately using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to construct a new volleyball stadium for Southern Miss.
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