“Can you fathom if the story was LeBron James and Gavin Newsom took money from the cops for LeBron to give fake speeches” – NBA analyst believes Favre's scam lacks a proper response as no celebrity is involved

Nick Wright took to his podcast to share his thoughts on former NFL quarterback Brett Favre's scandal. He made comparisons to LeBron James to further his point.

Favre, a Hall of Famer, has been connected to a welfare scandal, which reportedly involves a misappropriation of nearly $77 million in funds.

According to The Athletic, Favre, through his, charity "Favre 4 Hope," funneled more than $130,000 between 2018 and 2020. The money was to fund a volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi. He also received $1.1 million for speeches that he did not make. Wright sounded off:

"Imagine it was LeBron James. Now imagine it was anyone other than Brett Favre. And it was anyone other than the poorest people in the country, poor folks in Mississippi getting screwed here.

"Can you fathom if the story was LeBron James and Gavin Newsom took money from the cops for LeBron to give fake speeches. and to build new pickleball facilities because that's his new thing?"

He continued:

"No, I mean, I feel like it would be something that would be constantly in the headlines. And not a few intrepid journalists continuing to, you know, follow up on."

LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kevin Love to become team owners in Major League Pickleball

LeBron James is all set to become the owner of a Major League Pickleball team. It's a joint venture between James, long-time associate and business partner Maverick Carter, Draymond Green and Kevin Love.

The league will be expanding its ranks, with 16 teams set to play in 2023 as opposed to 12, which has been the norm till date.

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For the uninititated, the sport is a melange of tennis, badminton and table tennis and was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game. Originally devised by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, the game's aim was to keep their children occupied.

According to Pritchard's wife, pickleball derives from the "mixed rowing crew found on pickleboats," as noted by David Kane in his article from 2015.

Pickleball was also announced as Washington's official state sport earlier this year.

MLP founder Steve Kuhn shared his thoughts on the new ownership:

“Having SC Holdings, LRMR Ventures, and their incredible group as owners and investors in Major League Pickleball is not just great for MLP, it’s a watershed moment for pickleball in general.” (via MLP?

The statement also mentioned the league's plans to expand further, with some notable inclusions of big names from sports, business and media.