Retired NFL star Brett Favre is suing Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, accusing the Republican official of “defamation” over comments he made related to Favre’s role in Mississippi’s ongoing welfare scandal.
“Shad White, the State Auditor of Mississippi, has carried out an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations against Brett Favre—the Hall of Fame quarterback and native son of Mississippi—in a brazen attempt to leverage the media attention generated by Favre’s celebrity to further his own political career,” the lawsuit says. “By shamelessly and falsely attacking Favre’s good name, White has gained national media attention he previously could have only dreamed of, including appearances on television shows on CNN and HBO, a popular ESPN podcast, as well as interviews for print and online media. None of these national media outlets would have paid White the slightest attention had he not been attacking Favre. White himself acknowledged this, admitting that his own wife was ‘shocked’ by his appearance on the ESPN Daily Podcast.”
“In his media appearances, White has made egregiously false and defamatory statements accusing Favre of ‘steal[ing] taxpayer funds’ and knowingly misusing funds ‘designed to serve poor folks,’” the lawsuit continues. “There is no basis for these offensive falsehoods, which White made knowing that they were false or, at a minimum, with reckless disregard for the fact that they were false.”
In a statement in response to the news, which The Daily Mail first reported, White denied the allegations.
”Everything Auditor White has said about this case is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor,” the auditor said. “It’s mind-boggling that Mr. Favre wants to have a trial about that question. Mr. Favre has called Auditor White and his team liars despite repaying some of the money our office demanded from him. He’s also claimed the auditors are liars despite clear documentary evidence showing he benefitted from misspent funds. Instead of paying New York litigators to try this case, he’d be better off fully repaying the amount of welfare funds he owes the state.”
White