Pat McAfee's Lawyers File Motion To Throw Out Favre Defamation Suit
Lawyers for former Indianapolis Colts punter turned media star Pat McAfee has filed a motion to throw out a lawsuit filed against him by ex-NFL quarterback Brett Favre.
Favre filed the defamation suit in February. It named McAfee, as well as Fox Sports' Shannon Sharpe, and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White. The suit claimed they defamed Favre by talking about his connections to a welfare scandal in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services is looking to account for $77 million in misappropriated tax funds. Favre has been tied to be about $8 million of that. He has since repaid the $1.1 million that he received for speaking engagements that never happened.
As you might expect, sports media personalities discussed the scandal. Two in particular — McAfee and Sharpe — became the target of Fsavre's defamation suit.
“In meritless cases like this one, there is a powerful interest in ensuring that free speech is not unduly burdened by the necessity of defending against expensive, baseless litigation,” McAfee’s legal teams said in their motion to dismiss the suit.
“As a public figure bringing suit against a media defendant for reporting on matters of public concern, which are the subject of official proceedings and detailed at length in public records, Favre cannot state a claim for defamation upon which relief can be granted.”
Former punter and current broadcaster Pat McAfree's legal team is looking to get a defamation suit against him dismissed. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
McAfee's Lawyers Said Favre Was Trying To Shift Attention Away From The Scandal
According to Front Office Sports, McAfee's attorneys pointed to how Favre is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
They pointed out that the allegations surrounding Favre and the welfare scandal have been in the public for several years. They've also been discussed at great length.
McAfee's lawyer's claimed that Favre was using the defamation suit to direct attention away from the welfare scandal.
"Favre’s Complaint ignores the MDHS Lawsuit entirely, and instead attempts to paint Favre as the defamed victim of two cherry-picked statements and a tweet allegedly made by comedic sports analyst and broadcaster Pat McAfee.”
The expectation is that like McAfee, Sharpe will also attempt to get the defamation suit thrown out.
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