Brett Favre Loses Appeal In Defamation Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe
A federal appeals court on Monday refused to revive a defamation lawsuit that former NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed against fellow Hall of Fame player Shannon Sharpe.
The suit stemmed from comments Sharpe made on FS1's Undisputed regarding Favre's involvement in an ongoing fraud welfare scandal in Mississippi.
In 2022, the Green Bay Packers legend was accused of accepting $1.1 million for speaking engagements that never happened. Favre was then linked to an additional $5 million that was used for a volleyball arena at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi. His daughter played on the school's volleyball team.
Sharpe called Favre a "sleazeball" and said that he "stole money from the people that really needed that money." The former tight end also asserted that someone would have to be a sorry person "to steal from the lowest of the low."
And even though Favre claimed the former tight end's words were "egregiously false," U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett defended his right to say them. He threw out the lawsuit October 2023, saying Sharpe's "rhetorical, hyperbolic" speech was protected under the First Amendment.
But Favre’s lawyer, Amit Vora, told three 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges in New Orleans that the lawsuit should be revived, arguing that Sharpe explicitly accused Favre of theft.
Brett Favre sued Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee for defamation following his Mississippi welfare scandal. Favre withdrew his lawsuit against McAfee after the ESPN personality apologized on his show.
(Getty Images)
During oral arguments before the appeals court in July, Vora argued that her client was "unable to counteract this insidious and spreading lie. There’s readily available evidence that viewers, in fact, took this accusation literally (and) that this accusation harmed Favre’s reputation. In fact, (Favre) has never stolen money from anyone, and yet that evidence may never see the light of day.
"It renders Favre powerless to counteract this attack on his reputation," the attorney added.
Unfortunately for Favre and his team, though, the court disagrees.
For what it's worth, though, Favre has not been charged with a crime for his role in the Mississippi welfare scandal and has paid back the $1.1 million.