Netflix Doc Explores Brett Favre’s Involvement In Mississippi Welfare Scandal

A new Netflix documentary is shining a brighter light on Brett Favre and his involvement in a Mississippi welfare scandal that has kept the former NFL star in hot water for years. 

The hour-long doc, Untold: The Fall of Favre, which premiered this week, details Favre’s alleged involvement in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare scandal, which began in May 2020.  The doc also examines Favre’s 2010 sexting scandal, according to People.

As NewsOne has previously reported, in 2022, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White revealed that $70 million in TANF welfare funds were dished out to a multimillionaire athlete, a professional wrestler, a horse farm and a volleyball complex. One of those recipients of the welfare money was none other than Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. 

From $70 million, $8.1 million was allegedly given to entities tied to Brett Favre. According to reports, Favre was paid $1.1 million in federal welfare funds in 2017 and 2018 for motivational speeches he allegedly never gave.

Text messages were then released that suggested former Gov. Phil Bryant helped channel at least $5 million of the state’s welfare funds into a volleyball stadium project for Brett Favre and the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre’s daughter played volleyball for the university, and he received most of the fundraising credit for the project.

White says Brett Favre still owes the state nearly $730,000 for his involvement.

Favre has long denied any wrongdoing in the alleged scandal and has not been criminally charged at the state or federal level. He’s also tried to sue media personalities who criticized his involvement. 

In October 2023, a federal judge dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe for connecting and criticizing Favre’s involvement in the Mississippi welfare scandal. Favre sued Sharpe, claiming Sharpe made “egregiously false” statements about Favre’s involvement in the welfare scandal on the then-Fox Sports talk show, Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.

Favre also filed defamation suits against sports commentator and former college kicker Pat McAfee and Shad White, the State Auditor, who revealed that Favre was linked to the alleged fraud scheme.

Former NFL Quarterback Michael Vick, now the coach at Norfolk State, was interviewed in the documentary, calling out the double standard in the public spotlight when it comes to some former athletes.

“People go to jail for stealing money everyday,” Vick say on the documentary. “If it’s that important, the right institutions can get involved. But, you know, some people are untouchable in certain ways and that’s just the way it is. I just think that’s kinda how the system is rigged. You know, some situations have to be played out in court. Some have to be played out in the public.”

SEE ALSO:

Brett Favre Tries To Revive Defamation Lawsuit Against Shannon Sharpe

What Brett Favre’s Welfare Scandal Means For Black People In Mississippi

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