Brett Favre's Sirius XM Show Put On Hold After Welfare Fraud Scandal
Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) (Photo: via Associated Press)
People won’t be hearing much from Brett Favre in the near future.
Sirius XM has put the former NFL quarterback’s weekly radio show on hold after his involvement in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal came to light, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The move comes after Milwaukee radio station WKTI (which brands itself as ESPN Milwaukee) announced that it has suspended Favre’s weekly Green Bay Packers recap program on the station, NBC Sports reported.
The decision also comes just days after John Davis, a former director of Mississippi’s welfare agency, pleaded guilty to new federal charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families.
Favre has not been charged in the welfare misspending case, but earlier this month, texts came to light showing Favre working with Mississippi officials ― including then-Gov. Phil Bryant (R) ― to obtain federal welfare money for a new volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Although Favre’s attorney, Bud Holmes, denied to Mississippi Today that his client knew the funding was coming from welfare money, texts show the quarterback asking if there’s any chance the media will find out the source of center’s funding.
Brett Favre: Will the media find out that we're using welfare funds intended to help the poorest residents of America's poorest state to build a volleyball center?
Nancy New: Nah. Oh yeah, the governor is fully on board!@ayewolfe five years later: https://t.co/rWXHRXISsupic.twitter.com/wo3QuIYXaY— Adam Ganucheau (@GanucheauAdam) September 13, 2022
In May, the Mississippi Department of Human Services sued Favre and many others in hopes of retrieving $20 million in welfare funds intended for the state’s poorest citizens.
He also agreed to repay $1.1 million in welfare money that he received for multiple speeches where he did not show up.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.