Pat McAfee Being Sued By Brett Favre, McAfee Responds

Let the games begin. Multiple news outlets are reporting that NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has filed three separate defamation lawsuits against Mississippi state auditor Shad White as well as national sports commentators Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee.

From ESPN:

Favre became involved in [a] public fraud case in 2020 after investigators in White’s office discovered that at least $77 million in public money from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, earmarked for the neediest families in the state, instead was used to line the pockets of rich and powerful Mississippians.

According to a state audit and civil lawsuit in which Favre and dozens of others are named as defendants, Favre was paid $1.1 million in TANF funds for speeches White has said Favre never made. Favre eventually paid the money back, but the state auditor demanded Favre also pay $228,000 in interest.

Similar allegations were made in the lawsuit filed by Favre against former NFL punter and popular sports commentator Pat McAfee. According to the suit, McAfee called Favre a “thief” who was “stealing from poor people in Mississippi” on “The Pat McAfee Show.” The suit also accuses McAfee of making similar remarks on Twitter. (McAfee also works for ESPN.)

McAfee responded on his own show, saying the following:

“I’m getting sued by Brett Farve. Yup, we made it, boys,” McAfee started out.

McAfee then made a toast with his crew before continuing. “I’m getting sued alongside Shannon Sharpe and an auditor by Mississippi by Brett f**king Favre. Brett Favre is suing me in a defamation lawsuit, saying I defamed his name to try to earn a profit. With this, I believe, comes discovery and depositions and all these other things.”

“So I would like to let the New York lawyers who wrote me two letters before this thing got announced,” McAfee stated before noting what they said in the letter, which was them wanting him to remove any and all mention of Favre from the archives of his radio show, Twitter and YouTube library. He called it a warning shot.

“So I looked at that and said, ‘That’s hilarious.’ Of course, we’re not doing that. Put that down, move on with my life.”

“I would like to let everyone know the quotes that were in that lawsuit were certainly accurate, but there’s one word that I believe that was said often on this program, which was alleged. Our job is to report the news. At the time, it was allegedly going on down in Mississippi with Brett Farve, the man suing me for money.”

McAfee added, “We had to cover that situation, and we certainly said allegedly and a lot of people were wondering how my lawyers were going to handle this, you know it, I ain’t got em, so let’s ride this f**ker. I’m excited. I’ll see you in court, pal.”

McAfee made his return to WWE at the 2023 Royal Rumble, joining the commentary team for the evening alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves. Prior to that, he was a commentator on Smackdown, before leaving in August to join the crew of ESPN’s College Gameday.

[h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription]

 

Editor’s Opinion:

When it comes to these types of issues, particularly ones involving lawsuits, I always refrain from commenting. That being said, McAfee is going to have a field day with this on his show and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say!

Get the LATEST RUMORS! Click to sign up for the exclusive Wrestling Rumors daily newsletter.