Favre has not been charged with a crime. But the evidence that links him to this scandal has further compromised the standing earned with his football success across a 20-year N.F.L. career, particularly in the state where he has been a favorite son. Text messages released in a court filing earlier this month showed Favre leveraging that status to secure funds for personal pet projects: a biotechnology start-up in which he had invested and a volleyball facility at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played the sport. The texts were first reported on by Mississippi Today.
Favre’s lawyer, Bud Holmes, did not respond to messages seeking comment. He and Favre have said that Favre was not aware that the funds came from a federal welfare program. Two of the people Favre was in touch with have pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to the welfare money: John Davis, who served as executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services under Phil Bryant, the state’s former governor, and Nancy New, who led a community education nonprofit that misappropriated funds to Favre and other prominent figures. …
Sage Rosenfels, a former N.F.L. quarterback and Favre’s teammate on the Minnesota Vikings, called him out in a Twitter post, writing, “Since retirement, I have been lucky to avoid stealing millions of dollars from the poorest people in my state.” Rich Desrosiers, the chief communications officer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said he has fielded about a dozen phone calls from fans about Favre, all asking for him to be removed from the Hall, into which he was inducted in 2016. “There’s no question this has outraged a number of fans,” he said.
[Of course not. This scandal has nothing at all to do with his NFL career. And … Sage Rosenfels? Vikings fans know him as the answer to a trivia question. — Ed]
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