• Loading stock data...
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Law

Welfare Scandal Hasn’t Shaken Support for Brett Favre at Southern Miss

  • Favre remains a highly popular figure at his alma mater as brands and media companies have distanced themselves.
  • Federal welfare funds primarily financed the construction of a Southern Miss volleyball arena.
USM Favre
A.J. Perez/FOS

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — A hungover Brett Favre’s legend began here in September 1987. 

Favre, a freshman buried on the depth chart on the verge of getting redshirted, was thrust into the game against Tulane in the second half. Favre shook off the night of drinking to lead the University of Southern Mississippi to a 31-24 victory, the first highlight of his collegiate years that saw the Golden Eagles upset Alabama, Auburn, and Florida State before his Hall of Fame NFL career. 

“His mentality, there’s never a play he could not make,” said Rick Graham, a longtime season ticket holder who attended that game. “I think that’s really all about his competitive nature. People believed that he was going to make that play, whether he did or not. Yeah. And it carried people with him. He was always a competitor.”

Favre remains entangled in the Mississippi welfare scandal, something that led to nearly all of his sponsorship and media deals being placed on hold last year. He remains a defendant in the lawsuit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services as the state seeks to recover millions in misappropriated federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. 

Text messages in that lawsuit showed Favre’s efforts to secure $5 million of those funds for a volleyball arena, known as the Wellness Center, that is a couple blocks away from M.M. Roberts Stadium where his alma mater defeated University of Louisiana Monroe, 24-7, on Saturday. 

While Favre’s image has taken a hit in many quarters as a result of the welfare scandal, the fans interviewed by Front Office Sports remain staunch Favre fans. 

“Hero,” said Southern Miss alum David Ham when asked how Favre would be greeted if he walked into the tailgate area. “He’s done many, many things for Southern Miss over the years since he retired. He’s a target of publicity by Shad White.”

Shad White is the Mississippi State Auditor, whose investigation that began in 2019 unearthed the scandal that snowballed in the years since to lead to indictments of several of those involved with the illegal distribution of TANF funds. More than $77 million of TANF funds were misspent, and the state has recovered only a fraction of that amount. 

“My office just tells the truth about where taxpayer money went,” White said in a statement to FOS. “That’s it. I’m not going to sugarcoat the truth, even if the money went to someone famous, even if it makes some people angry.”

Favre has denied wrongdoing, and the authorities have not criminally charged him.

Perched in front of a flat-screen TV watching the Ole Miss-Texas A&M game before the Southern Miss game, longtime season ticketholder Phillip Carlisle said Favre would be greeted here like before the welfare scandal. 

“I don’t think it’s the first time that he’s kind of been under fire for different things,” Carlisle said. “I think that his intent was something really good and viable for Southern Miss. He’s been asked at other times to help raise money, and I think that’s what he was doing.

“I don’t think Brett had a lot of the information that was gonna bring it to the situation that it has. He’s wanted to leave Southern Miss again better than he found it.”

The Southern Miss Athletic Foundation, like Favre, is among the more than 40 defendants in the MDHS lawsuit because the Wellness Center was built mainly with TANF funds, which are barred from being used for construction. 

Graham, who noted he’s close with the Favre family, also questioned Favre’s culpability. 

“I don’t really think Brett did anything intentionally that would have been illegal,” Graham said. “His intent was always to help the university.”

Standing in the shadow of the Wellness Center, even the parent of a University of Louisiana Monroe player took up for Favre. 

“I know celebrities are targeted,” Doug Wells said. “It happens when people are in the spotlight. I have always been a fan of Brett Favre.  I might not be a Southern Miss fan today, but I’m a Brett Favre fan still.”

While nobody interviewed by FOS on Saturday voiced any criticisms of Favre, that doesn’t mean that view is universal in the Pine Belt.

Brandon Presley, the Democrat running for Mississippi governor, held a campaign stop on the USM campus on Thursday, where he again made government corruption — and Favre — a talking point. 

“I told them the slogan of this campaign ought to be, ‘Ain’t Scared,’” Presley told FOS on Thursday. “I make the same points in Hattiesburg and everywhere else. Folks in Hattiesburg are just as mad about it as anybody else in the state. They realize how wrong all of this stuff is.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Explosive Brett Favre Netflix Doc Is Cautionary Tale of Fame

A documentary featuring Jenn Sterger pulls back the curtain on Favre’s misdeeds.
Dec. 18, 1982; New York, NY, USA; FILE PHOTO; Miami Dolphins quarterback David Woodley (16) is pursued by New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau (99) at the Orange Bowl.

Mark Gastineau Sues ESPN for $25 Million, Alleging Deceptive Editing of Favre..

Gastineau is a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played from 1979 to 1988.
Brett Favre and Donald Trump

What Donald Trump’s Win Means for Welfare Probe, Brett Favre

Favre spoke at Trump’s rally last week in Green Bay, Wis.
Brett Favre, House hearing, Sept. 24, 2024

House Republicans Paint Favre As Victim in Welfare Case

Brett Favre discussed the need to reform the federal welfare program.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
Hymie Elhai

Jets Say Execs Tried to Sink Team President in Bumbling Conspiracy

The team says thousands of deleted text messages show the plot.
Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans former quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (left) and Matt Leinart watch from the sidelines during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Utah Utes at Allegiant Stadium.
October 6, 2025

Mark Sanchez, Fox Sports Sued Over Alley Fight That Turned Bloody

The high-profile incident took place Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Brian Flores
October 7, 2025

Court Again Rejects NFL Request to Send Flores Case to Arbitration

The NFL has tried to keep the case out of open court.
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
Jon Gruden
October 3, 2025

Jon Gruden’s Case Against NFL Gets Closer to Open Court

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NFL’s appeal. 
Apr 16, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis speaks during a FIFA Club World Cup press conference at Audi Field.
October 1, 2025

San Diego Wave Owners Sue Jill Ellis for Abandoning Team After Sale

Ellis allegedly broke a pledge by leaving for FIFA after the sale.
Brian Flores
September 30, 2025

Brian Flores Asks Court to Halt NFL Arbitration

The war between Flores’s lawyers and an NFL arbitrator has heated up.
Oct 27, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans co-founder and former owner Janice McNair (left) sits with Texans chief executive officer Cal McNair and wife Hannah McNair in front of family members of Texans former player Andre Johnson (not pictured) during a ceremony at halftime of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium.
September 29, 2025

NFL Sued for $100M Over Efforts to ‘Silence’ Brother of Texans Owner

Robert Cary McNair Jr. says the NFL helped remove him from roles.