New York magazine puts Packers legend Brett Favre front and center after Mississippi welfare fund scandal

This article was amended to clearly state the $1.1 million amount for which Favre was accused of receiving. An amount that the state has acknowledged Favre has given back.

Brett Favre saw his legacy take a major dip in 2022 after his role in the biggest welfare scandal in the state of Mississippi was revealed. For that reason, the former NFL quarterback was labeled the "Sports Scumbag of the Year" for his role in the scandal by the New Republic Magazine.

John Davis, a former director of Mississippi's welfare agency, has pleaded guilty to the charge, with the scandal, according to several reports, amounting to $77 million.

The former Green Bay Packers star was accused of receiving two payments of $500,000 and $600,000 each, amounting to $1.1 million. This was for appearances and speeches, which, according to the accusers, Favre did not attend or make. However, Favre has insisted that he has paid back the entire amount received and denied any wrongdoing.

Favre's role in the scandal started back in 2016 with text messages between him and his alma mater about building a volleyball court.

Conversations between Favre, then-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, and the leader of the non-profit Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), Nancy New, came to light. Those text conversations unveiled a plan to move TANF money in order to build the volleyball facility.

Next, MCEC gave $1.1 million straight to Favre, divided into two payments. One was in December 2017, and the other was in June 2018.

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The Mississippi Department of Health Services lawsuit includes Brett Favre

The Mississippi Department of Health Services (MDHS) filed a lawsuit back in May of this year to recover $94 million in misappropriated welfare funds. MDHS gave out a total of $98 million to the MCEC and Family Resource Center, another non-profit.

Both were supposed to help oversee an anti-poverty program called Families First for Mississippi.

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Brett Favre has claimed innocence for his part in the welfare scandal

Brett Favre hired lawyer Eric Herschmann, who filed a motion to dismiss him from the lawsuit last month. He noted that his client is innocent in the lawsuit and his role in the welfare scandal.

Herschmann said:

"It is apparent that MDHS has sued Favre, a Mississippi and national celebrity, in an effort to deflect responsibility for its own egregious wrongdoing in allowing $94 million of its public funds to be misspent — funds for which MDHS itself admits it was 'exclusively responsible.'"

"There is no factual or legal basis to include Favre in this lawsuit or for the torrent of the unjustified negative publicity concerning Favre that MDHS has outrageously instigated — publicity that properly should be directed at MDHS, not Favre."

As a result, the legendary quarterback was dropped by a number of companies, including Sirius XM.

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