• Loading stock data...
Friday, June 6, 2025
Law

Brett Favre’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe Dismissed

  • Sharpe, Pat McAfee were sued over comments about Favre’s ties to the Mississippi welfare scandal.
  • Federal judge concludes that the First Amendment protects Sharpe’s statements.
Favre Sharpe
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s note: This story was updated 11/29/23 with the notice of appeal.

A federal judge dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe on Monday, the latest case brought by Favre over comments made about his alleged links to the Mississippi welfare scandal to conclude with any money changing hands. 

Favre filed a notice of appeal to the 5th Circuit a month after the judge’s decision.

Favre sued Sharpe, Pat McAfee, and Mississippi State Auditor Shad White in February, alleging they made “false and defamatory statements” about Favre’s guilt related to the largest public corruption scandal in Mississippi history. McAfee said his lawsuit was resolved in May “with no settlement paid.”

“Pat McAfee issued an apology,” Sharpe said on his Nightcap podcast with Chad Johnson late Monday night. “Me, I wasn’t going to issue an apology because if I had issued an apology, I would have felt I had done something wrong. He wouldn’t have apologized if he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.”

U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi Keith Starrett wrote that Sharpe’s comments are protected by the First Amendment, and granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice, meaning Favre won’t be able to refile the case. 

“No reasonable person listening to the broadcast would think that Favre actually went into the homes of poor people and took their money—that he committed the crime of theft/larceny against any particular poor person in Mississippi,” Starrett wrote in the 12-page opinion

“Sharpe’s comments were made against the backdrop of longstanding media coverage of Favre’s role in the welfare scandal and the state’s lawsuit against Favre. Listeners would have recognized Sharpe’s statements as rhetorical hyperbole.”

Favre is among more than 40 defendants in a lawsuit brought by the Mississippi Department of Human Services that seeks to recover more than $77 million of misappropriated welfare funds. Favre has not been charged criminally and has denied any wrongdoing. 

“I was going to take it to the highest court in the land,” Sharpe said on Nightcap. “The thing that I had on my side is [that] Shannon got some pretty deep pockets. I had a very, very good law firm out of DC and Mississippi that presented my case. I’m glad it’s behind me.

“Hopefully, the people of Mississippi have their day in court and everything gets worked out about what transpired down there.”

Sharpe’s comments about Favre on his former show, FS1’s “Undisputed,” from September 2022, were the focus of Favre’s lawsuit that sought unspecified monetary damages. Sharpe has since joined the cast of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“So, if that is the poorest state, Brett Favre is taking from the underserved,” Sharpe said on air. “You made a hundred plus million dollars in the NFL, and to talk about, well, [Favre] didn’t know. This is what Brett Favre texted, ‘If you were to pay me, is there any way the media can find out where it came from and how much?’ … “He stole money from people that really needed that money.”

Michael Hurst, Jr, one of Sharpe’s attorneys, wrote in a motion to dismiss filed in May that “Sharpe’s comments are not actionable, and the complaint is irreparably defective on its face.”

The defamation lawsuit against White, the state auditor, remains ongoing in state court.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

ESPN has not let NBA Countdown “marinate” as talent changes too frequently, ex-host Michelle Beadle tells FOS.
breaking

SiriusXM Parts Ways With Michelle Beadle, Cody Decker

Beadle, Decker exit three months before Stephen A. Smith takes their slot.

Vanessa Richardson on ESPN’s ‘Hoop Streams,’ NBA Finals, Caitlin Clark

“We’re not trying to be ‘NBA Countdown.’ We’re trying to be a good hang,” Richardson said.

Manfred: MLB Wants New Media-Rights Deal Before All-Star Game

Talks continue with three bidders, and a decision is expected soon.
exclusive

Michelle Beadle on Losing SiriusXM Slot to Stephen A. Smith: ‘I Don’t..

Smith will host a weekday show in Beadle’s former spot, as well as a weekly show.

Featured Today

May 27, 2015; Paris, France; Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) knocks the clay off her shoe during her match against Simona Halep (ROU) on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros

Roland-Garros’s Iconic Red-Clay Surface Is a Precise Alchemy

The exact science behind maintaining the French Open’s red clay.
Alex Jensen introductory press conference on Monday, March 17, 2025.
June 3, 2025

Alex Jensen Started Utah Utes HC Job While Still Coaching the Mavs

How Jensen began building an NCAA program while patrolling the Dallas sideline.
May 31, 2025

PSG and the City of Paris Can Join European Soccer’s Elite

What a maiden Champions League title would mean for the French club.
May 30, 2025

How the Champions League Anthem Took on a Life of Its Own

The composer didn’t know he wrote a timeless hit three decades ago.
Tony Clark

Everything You Need to Know About the MLBPA-OneTeam FBI Investigation

Money from lucrative group licensing deals is under federal scrutiny.
Jun 23, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Trevor Bauer (27) throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Petco Park.
June 3, 2025

Trevor Bauer Gets Legal Win Over Accuser for Violating Settlement Terms

Judge orders woman who brought sexual assault allegations to pay over $300,000.
The basketball court area inside Indiana University's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Bloomington, Ind. Assembly Hall is one of six Indiana venues hosting 2021 NCAA March Madness tournament games. Indiana University Hoosiers Basketball Assembly Hall In Bloomington Ind On Tuesday March 9 2021
June 4, 2025

More Former Indiana Players Say Bob Knight Knew of Abusive Doctor

Ten more former Hoosier men’s basketball players say they were sexually abused by a team doctor between the 1970s and 1990s.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

In Episode 7 of Portfolio Players, go inside the boardroom with Avenue Capital CEO and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on Giannis’s future, women’s sports, and upstart leagues like TGL and Unrivaled. 
Pacifica's Alijah Royster breaks through the Thousand Oaks defense to score a touchdown during their CIF-SS Division 4 semifinal game at Thousand Oaks on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. Pacifica won 28-16.
June 3, 2025

New Lawsuit Challenges Restrictions on High School NIL Deals, Transfers

A former high school football player filed a class-action lawsuit in California.
Jack Brewer
June 3, 2025

Ex-NFL Player Committed Insider Trading, Judge Rules

Brewer played safety for five NFL seasons before going into finance. 
Mar 24, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detailed view of the basketball sneakers worn by Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann (14) against the Philadelphia 76ers at Crypto.com Arena.
May 30, 2025

Skechers Sued Over Allegedly Sketchy Go-Private Deal

The footwear giant agreed to be acquired by 3G Capital for $9.4 billion.
Zion Williamson
May 30, 2025

Zion Williamson Accused of Rape and Abuse in Lawsuit

The woman says their relationship began when he was at Duke in 2018.