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In 2023, Brett Favre sued Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee for defamation over comments they made regarding his alleged involvement in the Mississippi state welfare scandal. Both lawsuits were dismissed, but Favre continued to pursue the matter with Sharpe, appealing the decision. Now, Favre has lost an appeal, according to Bloomberg Law .
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the previous ruling call for Favre's suit to be dismissed. “At the time Sharpe made the statements, the facts on which he was relying were publicly known, and Sharpe had a right to characterize those publicly known facts caustically and unfairly,” Judge Leslie H. Southwick said, for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
“Sharpe’s statements were his ‘strongly stated’ opinions ‘based on truthful established fact[s],’ and thus nonactionable.” Patrick McDermott/Getty Images In 2022, Favre was named in a 2022 civil suit filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Services and accused of receiving funds designated for needy families and using them improperly. As of today, Favre has never been charged with a crime and continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, during a Sept. 2022 episode of Undisputed on FS1, Sharpe said the Hall of Fame quarterback was guilty of “taking from the underserved” and “stole money from people that really needed that money.” The Fifth Circuit ruled that because Sharpe's comments were “strongly stated opinions about the widely reported welfare scandal,” they are not demonstrative of defamation.
Related: NFL Fans Disturbed By Shannon Sharpe's Instagram Live Video.
