Brett Favre.Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Brett Favreis speaking out publicly for the first time about the allegations thathe misused $5 million in Mississippi welfare funds to build a college volleyball stadium.
On Tuesday, the former Green Bay Packers quarterback, 53, claimed that his name has been unfairly tarnished in the press after text messages revealed that Favre and ex-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant collaborated to funnel at least $5 million of the state’s welfare funds to build the stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played volleyball.
“I have been unjustly smeared in the media. I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight,“he claimed to Fox News.“No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me.”
“I tried to help my alma mater [the University of Southern Mississippi], a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.”
Paul Abell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The allegations against Favre are part of a larger ongoing scandal in Mississippi over incorrectly used welfare funds. An attorney representing nonprofit founder Nancy New, who has already pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts of bribery, fraud and racketeering for taking part in the scheme, submitted the text messages, whichMississippi Todayfirst reported on in September.
In the released texts, Favre asks New, who is the founder of the Mississippi Community Education Center and was hired to distribute the welfare funds to help the state, “If you were to pay me is there anyway media can find out where it came from and how much?”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Favre reportedly repaid the speaking fees, but not an additional $228,000 in interest the Mississippi state auditor requested.
Favre has not been formally charged, but six others have been criminally charged in connection with the scandal, facing allegations that in 2020, they spent $77 million from the government on pricey cars and private schools as opposed to thosein need in Mississippi, per CNN.
source: people.com
