The Old Gunslinger is making headlines again, but not for the right reasons.
Brett Favre is slated to provide testimony in a Mississippi lawsuit related to the alleged misappropriation of state welfare funds later this month.
The retired NFL quarterback, now 53 years old, is set to give sworn testimony on October 26 at a hotel in Hattiesburg, as revealed in a court filing obtained by the Associated Press and NBC News. Favre, along with more than 40 others, was previously named as a defendant in a lawsuit initiated by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in an effort to recover misused welfare funds.
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This legal action stemmed from an investigation conducted by Mississippi’s state auditor, Shad White, which uncovered that approximately $77 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds allocated between 2016 and 2019 did not reach families in need as intended. Instead, the funds were directed towards various projects involving Favre and others, as reported by the media outlets.
Among the findings, it was disclosed that around $5 million of TANF funds were allocated to construct a volleyball arena at Favre’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, where his daughter also played volleyball, as noted by ESPN.
Additionally, approximately $1.7 million was invested in the development of a concussion treatment drug, with Favre showing support for the project, according to the AP.
White further alleged that Favre was paid $1.1 million for motivational speeches that he did not deliver. Although Favre claimed to have repaid the money, the state auditor asserted that an outstanding $228,000 in interest remained, as reported by NBC News.
“My office looks forward to hearing Mr. Favre’s answers under oath about what happened to Mississippi’s welfare dollars,” said White in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday.
Favre has consistently denied any wrongdoing in this case, asserting that he was unaware he had received TANF funds. He stated last year to Fox News, “No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me.”
