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Pat McAfee isn’t backing down from Brett Favre.
On Thursday, ESPN reported that Favre was suing McAfee and FS1 commentator Shannon Sharpe for defamation after they claimed he stole money from welfare recipients in Mississippi.
Favre is currently at the center of an investigation involving misappropriated welfare funds in the state of Mississippi but claims that he had no knowledge the state was paying him in stolen welfare money.
via ESPN
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, who remains embroiled in the largest welfare fraud scandal in Mississippi state history, filed three separate defamation lawsuits Thursday against state auditor Shad White as well as national sports commentators Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee.
Favre’s attorneys said in their lawsuit that they have seen “no records indicating Mr. Favre knew” that the money provided for speeches or for his alma mater was from TANF funds.
Favre’s lawsuit against Sharpe, an NFL veteran of 14 seasons who now serves as co-host of Fox Sports 1’s “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” alleges that Sharpe defamed Favre by saying on his broadcast that Favre was a “sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low,” and that Favre “stole money from people that really needed that money.”
Similar allegations were made in the lawsuit filed by Favre against former NFL punter and popular sports commentator Pat McAfee. According to the suit, McAfee called Favre a “thief” who was “stealing from poor people in Mississippi” on “The Pat McAfee Show.” The suit also accuses McAfee of making similar remarks on Twitter. (McAfee also works for ESPN.)
On Friday’s edition of the Pat McAfee Show, McAfee reacted to the news that he was getting sued by Favre.
“I’m getting sued by Brett Favre. We made it boys …,” he said. “We’re lucky to have a little bit of say in sports. We’re thankful that we have the opportunity every day to be a part of the sports media world. And I guess whenever you get a little bit too big, you fly a little bit too close to the sun.”
Ladies and gentlemen.. I am being sued by Brett Favre#PMSinAZ pic.twitter.com/QIm0i0ohUV
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 10, 2023
McAfee revealed that Favre’s lawyers asked him to apologize for his remarks on the Favre case, but he refused to do so and is now looking forward to seeing Favre in court.
“I said, ‘That is hilarious, of course we’re not doing that’ … There’s one word I believe that was said off it, on this particular program, if you’re going to watch it all, and that would be ‘allegedly,’” he said. “Our job is to report the news. … We owe the sports media world our coverage of it. We take our job seriously as journalists.”
“Let’s ride this f—er. I’m excited to see how it goes. I’ll see you in court, pal,”