Brett Favre filed a defamation lawsuit against Pat McAfee last month, and the former NFL punter turned media personality has issued an official legal response.
In a lengthy Twitter post on Friday, McAfee revealed that he has filed a motion in a Mississippi federal court to have Favre’s lawsuit dismissed. McAfee called the lawsuit a “joke” as well as a “rather notable attack on the first amendment AND on comedic relief as a whole in our society.”
“When you read the publicly available filings in the lawsuit against Favre, all of the articles (FROM EVERY NEWS SOURCE THAT HAS BASICALLY EVER EXISTED), evidence, and damning facts of the very sad Welfare Fraud Scandal of Mississippi (new things are still being presented and revealed weekly), a ‘defamation’ lawsuit from a public figure in sports who is in the middle of it all against a comedic sports show seems a bit bananas… that’s because it is … B-a-na-na-s,” McAfee wrote.
You can see the first page of the official filing and read McAfee’s full commentary below:
Hello beautiful people..
As of a few moments ago, I have filed for the dismissal of Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against me in a Federal Court in the fine state of Mississippi.
I very much understand that next to nobody on earth wants to hear more about this type of… pic.twitter.com/3z0NlvWqwC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 31, 2023
Favre is suing McAfee and FOX’s Shannon Sharpe over comments they made about Favre’s alleged involvement in a welfare fraud scheme. Favre allegedly received $1.1 million in welfare funds in his home state of Mississippi for speeches he never made. The Hall of Fame quarterback has also been accused of using welfare funds to pay for a new $5 million volleyball arena at Southern Mississippi. Favre has not been charged in the case but has repaid $1.1 million in debt to the state. He has claimed he had no knowledge of where the money he received came from.
McAfee, Sharpe and many others have suggested Favre knowingly stole welfare money.
Favre has denied any wrongdoing, but his involvement in the massive fraud investigation has been widely reported. As McAfee noted, the Green Bay Packers legend is also a public figure. That will likely make it extremely difficult for Favre to win his lawsuit even if it is not dismissed.
