Pat McAfee filed a motion to dismiss Brett Favre’s amended defamation lawsuit against him Friday.
McAfee, a former NFL punter-turned-sports media personality, was sued by the Packers legend over statements made on his talk show about Favre’s involvement in a $77 million welfare fraud scheme in Mississippi.
Favre has not been charged with a crime in the case, but did receive $1.1 million in federal welfare funding, which he then used on a series of personal projects, such as a volleyball gym at his alma mater, Southern Miss, where his daughter played the sport at the time.
McAfee’s filing claimed the former quarterback was continuing to ‘paint himself as the defamed victim of two cherry-picked statements and a tweet allegedly made by McAfee,’ which it claims were taken out of context.
The motion branded the lawsuit ‘meritless’ and insisted there was an interest to protect free speech.
Pat McAfee (left) has filed a motion to dismiss Brett Favre’s federal defamation lawsuit
‘In meritless cases like this one, there is a powerful interest in ensuring free speech is not unduly burdened by the necessity of defending against expensive, baseless litigation.
‘As a public figure brining suit against s media defendant for reporting on matters of public concern, which are the subject of official proceedings and detailed at length in public records, Favre cannot state a claim for defamation upon which relief can be granted.’
The new filing also claimed Favre’s amended complaint against McAfee included ‘pages of re-engineered allegations’ and labelled it ‘as deficient as his original.’
Favre originally filed defamation lawsuits against two former NFL players-turned media personalities – Fox Sports’ Shannon Sharpe and McAfee – as well as Mississippi Auditor Shad White over allegations he knowingly used welfare funds on those personal projects.
Sharpe called Favre a ‘sleazeball’ on his FS1 show in September while accusing the retired quarterback of knowingly stealing $1.1 million in Mississippi welfare funds in exchange for speeches that he never made. McAfee accused him of ‘stealing from the poor people of Mississippi,’ while White claimed Favre knew the origin of the welfare funds.
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McAfee also filed a motion to dismiss Favre’s original suit against him, with his lawyers are arguing that Favre’s complaint falls short of alleging actual malice, which is a necessary component in a defamation lawsuit involving a plaintiff who is a public figure, leading to the Packers legend’s amended complaint.
‘Hello beautiful people,’ McAfee announced in a lengthy Twitter post last month. ‘As of a few moments ago, I have filed for the dismissal of Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against me in a Federal Court in the fine state of Mississippi… From the very beginning I thought the lawsuit against me was a joke.’
McAfee ended his tweet on Friday by referencing the allegations against Favre: ‘Cheers to everybody, and let’s remember to take care of each other… and not allegedly, reportedly steal from those who need it most…’
Also included in McAfee’s announcement was a challenge to Favre: ‘Brett, match me with a donation to a Big Brothers Big Sisters foundation in Mississippi. Let’s help out the next generation of Mississippians together. Let’s give some support to the citizens of your state who might need it a little bit, and let’s make something positive out of this sad clown show of a defamation suit with no merit.’
Favre has not been charged in the $77 million welfare fraud case, which has already resulted in several guilty pleas, and he has repaid the $1.1 million he received for no-show speaking gigs and radio ads.
However, in December, Mississippi issued a new $5million demand as part of its lawsuit against Favre, saying he used anti-poverty funds to pay for the volleyball arena.
Earlier this month, Mississippi’s Department of Human Services directed a state judge to ignore Favre’s request to be removed from the civil suit that seeks to recover the misspent welfare money.
The scandal is Mississippi’s largest-ever public corruption case, and involves millions in federal welfare being squandered on projects supported by some of the state’s wealthiest and well-connected citizens, including Favre.
Favre’s attorneys, including former Donald Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann, have argued that the Department of Human Services is suing their client to deflect from their own negligence for failing to catch the fraud as it occurred. Favre’s defense team has filed a pair of requests urging the judge to dismiss Favre.
More to follow.
