Brett Favre suing Shannon Sharpe, Pat McAfee in defamation lawsuit

It has been a long time since NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre has been talked about for his accomplishments as a football player, and he's now pushing back against those that have been talking.

Favre has been one of the main figures in a state of Mississippi public fraud case. The state auditor had accused Favre and named him in a civil lawsuit that detailed the largest welfare fraud case in state history. It was reported that $77 million in welfare money earmarked for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program had gone elsewhere.

This story, of course, has been major news not just in sports media, but in news media as well. It's worth noting that though he was named in the lawsuit, Favre had not been charged with a crime.

With that in mind, ESPN is reporting that the former gunslinger has decided to sue several people for defamation. That includes the auditor, Shad White, as well as sports media personalities Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee. 

Regarding Sharpe, Favre took specific offense to the NFL Hall of Famer and co-host of FS1's "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" saying that Favre was a "sorry mofo to steal from the lowest of the low," and that the former QB "stole money from people that really needed that money."

As for McAfee, the lawsuit states that the former NFL punter turned wildly popular media personality called Favre a "thief" and claimed that he was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi."

Regarding the scandal, which was national news everywhere — not just Sharpe or McAfee's shows — several of the key figures have already gone to prison, including former Department of Human Services Director John Davis, who was sentenced to 32 years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of conspiracy and 13 counts of fraud against the government.

According to the state audit and a civil lawsuit that named Favre and others, the former quarterback was paid $1.1 million from these funds for speeches he never made.

The University of Southern Mississippi, Favre's alma mater and the place where his daughter was playing college volleyball at the time, also received $5 million of the TANF funds that, per the state audit, Favre had lobbied for via text messages with state officials.

Favre did ultimately pay back the $1.1 million for the speeches but was sued by the state of Mississippi for $228,000 in interest.