Brett Favre Loses Again in Appeal Against Shannon Sharpe

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre has been charged with alleged welfare fraud in his home state of Mississippi. After Shannon Sharpe, who appeared on the FS1 show in 2023, reported the story, Favre filed a defamation lawsuit against the previous player.

Last October, a federal judge dismissed Favre’s motion. defamation lawsuit, stating that Sharpe’s comments about Favre’s involvement in the Mississippi welfare misappropriation case were constitutionally protected speech. In July, the NFL Hall of Fame inductee I asked federal appeals court to reinstate the lawsuit. On September 16, the federal appeals court refused to reinstate the lawsuit.

According to the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fifth Circuit rejected Favre’s request. The court ruled that Sharpe’s comments were constitutionally protected opinions based on publicly known facts.

“His statements should be taken as strong opinions on the much-publicized welfare scandal,” Judge Leslie Southwick wrote for the unanimous three-judge appellate panel.

She said the alleged inaccuracies were corrected throughout the show by Skip Bayless, who stated that Favre had not been charged with against the law and had returned the initial $1.1 million he had been paid. Southwick also mentioned that Sharpe clarified throughout the episode that Favre had said he didn’t know the source of the funds.

“At the time Sharpe made these statements, the facts on which he relied were common knowledge, and Sharpe was entitled to view those common knowledge facts in a sarcastic and unfair manner,” Southwick wrote.

At the time, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White alleged that Favre had been improperly paid $1.1 million in speaking fees that were to be spent on the volleyball arena on the University of Southern Mississippi. The school is Favre’s alma mater, and his daughter played volleyball there. The money paid to Favre got here from a nonprofit that spent money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program with the approval of the state Department of Human Services.

Initially, Sharpe stated that Favre was “taking money from people who had no access to services,” that he was “stealing money from people who really needed it,” and that somebody would need to be a pathetic person “to steal from the lowest of the low.”