Brett Favre’s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the former quarterback in the Mississippi lawsuit involving a misuse of state welfare funds, the Associated Press reports. Favre is one of over three dozen people named in a Mississippi Department of Human Services lawsuit alleging $20 million of the state’s welfare money was misspent.
“It is apparent that MDHS has sued Favre, a Mississippi and national celebrity, to try to deflect responsibility for its own egregious wrongdoing in allowing tens of millions of dollars of its public funds to be misspent — funds for which MDHS itself admits it was ‘exclusively responsible,’” Farve’s lawyers said in the filing.
Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today reported in September that Favre, along with nonprofit founder Nancy New and former welfare agency director John Davis, used $5 million of state funds to help the University of Southern Mississippi build a new volleyball stadium, while also lobbying for money to build a new indoor football facility. According to Wolfe, at least $77 million was misspent in this case.
New and Davis both pleaded guilty in their cases, New to 13 felony counts and Davis to two federal charges.
This is not the first time that Favre’s lawyers have filed for a dismissal, as they did so in November as well. The state of Mississippi then altered its demand against Favre, leading to this new motion.
Favre, who has yet to face criminal charges, has continued to downplay his role in the lawsuit. He argued that he repaid the $1.1 million that he received to promote the program after he found out it was a misuse of funds.
“No one ever told me, and I did not know that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me,” Favre said in a statement to Fox News last year. “I tried to help my alma mater USM, a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.”
Recently, Favre has sued three people, including Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee, for defamation regarding their comments about the former quarterback’s involvement in the case.
