Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is seeking to revive a defamation lawsuit against former tight end Shannon Sharpe in a federal appeals court. The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a federal judge in Mississippi, who ruled that Sharpe's comments criticizing Favre's connection to a welfare misspending case were constitutionally protected speech.
During a September 2022 broadcast of the Fox Sports show “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” Sharpe accused Favre of 'taking from the underserved' and 'stealing money from people that really needed that money.' These remarks were made in the context of a Mississippi welfare scandal, where the Mississippi Department of Human Services misspent over $77 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
