Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has withdrawn a defamation lawsuit that he had filed against former Indianapolis Colts punter-turned-podcaster Pat McAfee, settling an issue that had originally arisen when McAfee commented on Favre's ongoing welfare scandal in the state of Mississippi. McAfee and Favre both confirmed that the lawsuit had been withdrawn in separate statements.
During his Thursday broadcast, McAfee reiterated that comments he made about Favre's welfare scandal were made in jest and were based solely on public statements and allegations rather than any personal knowledge of his legal issues.
"As I have previously stated, I respect the hell out of Brett Favre the football player and his Hall of Fame career on the field, and I have no personal knowledge about any case involving Brett in Mississippi," McAfee said. "I am pleased to report that based solely on me again clarifying these points now, with no settlement paid, Brett is withdrawing his suit against me."
The lawsuit that Favre had filed alleged that McAfee had made "outrageous falsehoods" about Favre on his show while commenting on his welfare scandal, which included characterizing Favre's actions as "stealing from poor people in Mississippi." Favre is among those who were named in a civil lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which claimed that millions of dollars were funneled away from state welfare programs.
In a statement on Twitter, Favre likewise agreed that McAfee's comments had been satirical in nature.
I'm happy that Pat McAfee and I have settled this litigation. Like Pat said, he was attempting to be funny and not commenting based on any personal knowledge. We'd both much rather talk about football.
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) May 11, 2023
In addition to McAfee, Favre had also filed a separate defamation lawsuit against Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, who now serves as the co-host of "Undisputed" on FS1. The status of Favre's lawsuit against Sharpe
