Pat McAfee laughs off Brett Favre defamation lawsuit: 'See you in court, pal'
Pat McAfee doesn't seem worried about the defamation lawsuits Brett Favre filed Thursday against him and two other men over their responses to the Hall of Fame quarterback's ongoing welfare scandal.
McAfee, a former NFL punter who has built a second career as a media personality, issued a response to Favre's lawsuit against him during an airing of "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday at Super Bowl media row. McAfee was one of three people to receive such a lawsuit, the others being Fox Sports' Shannon Sharpe and Mississippi state auditor Shad White.
While the advice of most lawyers would be to say as little as possible about pending litigation, especially in a defamation case, McAfee instead used the situation as comedic fodder and dismissed any chance of success for Favre.
Ladies and gentlemen.. I am being sued by Brett Favre#PMSinAZpic.twitter.com/QIm0i0ohUV
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 10, 2023
During the segment, McAfee confirmed that he received the lawsuit and that Favre's legal team had contacted him twice, the first to demand he delete all past videos in which he criticized Favre and the second to demand a public apology.
McAfee joked that he missed the deadline to apologize, 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, because he was busy playing pickleball.
On the substance of the actual lawsuit, McAfee noted that he disclaimed his past discussions about Favre with the key word "allegedly." He also indicated that he had not yet hired a lawyer.
"The quotes that were in that lawsuit were certainly accurate, but there’s one word, I believe that was said, often, on this particular program, if you were to watch at all, and that would be ‘allegedly.’ Our job is to report the news. Allegedly what was going on down in Mississippi with Brett Favre, the man who is suing me for money and for defamation, was being reported on this particular program because we owe the sports media world our coverage of it.
“We certainly said 'allegedly.' A lot of people are wondering how my lawyers are gonna handle this. You know it, I ain’t got ‘em. So let’s ride this f***er, I’m excited to see how it goes. I’ll see you in court, pal.”
McAfee went on to say he believed he would soon be deposed before hailing the lawsuit as a sign that his show, which earned him a four-year, $120 million deal with FanDuel in 2021, has become a true success:
"I've had lawyers reach out to me and tell me how big of a joke this whole thing is. Whatever. I assumed this was going to come at some point with how big the show has gotten. We're lucky for it, we're thankful for it, we move on."
McAfee later told Front Office Sports that 50 lawyers have offered to represent him in the case and that he initially believed the letters with Favre's demands were a prank.
So far, Sharpe has not publicly responded to Favre's lawsuit, while White issued a stern response shortly after the lawsuit was filed Thursday.
Why Brett Favre is suing Pat McAfee
Favre's lawsuit against McAfee, which can be read in its entirety thanks to the good folks at Mississippi Today, specifically points to two times the former punter allegedly defamed him.
The first came during a segment aired and uploaded Nov. 30, in which McAfee made the following statements:
"Every time [Favre's] name comes up, we have to mention that he tied the hands of the poor people and took money from right out of their pockets."
"[Favre is] certainly in the middle of stealing from poor people in Mississippi now."
During the same segment, McAfee also mentioned that "Brett Favre Enterprises is alleging that this is all wrong, and I can't wait to hear BFE ... drop Brett Favre Enterprises' side of the story, and we will judge it accordingly."
The second point of contention is the following humorous tweet, made funnier by the fact that it made Brett Favre's camp so mad they are now suing:
Devonta Smith doing “The Favre” after that touchdown was crazy
pic.twitter.com/MQX6GoRPzx— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 24, 2022
It should be noted that McAfee, Sharpe and White are far from the only media entities to criticize Favre, as the former Green Bay Packers great has almost universally been censured for his role in an alleged welfare scheme that saw him receive $1.1 million in federal welfare funds.
While Favre has since paid back the money he received (without interest), he has also been reported to have played a central role in funneling $5 million to a volleyball stadium at his alma mater, Southern Miss. While Favre has long insisted that he did not know where the money was coming from, Mississippi Today has reported on text messages showing him being explicitly told multiple times that improper use of the funds could be illegal. Texts have also been reported in which he asked a convicted member of the conspiracy if there is "any way the media can find out where [the funds] came from and how much?"
To date, Favre has filed no known legal action against Mississippi Today and its reporting, which has consistently peeled back layers to a scandal that keeps looking worse for Favre since it was unearthed in 2020.
No criminal charges have been filed against Favre, but he has been questioned by the FBI over the alleged scheme. He is also still facing a civil lawsuit from Mississippi, from which he is trying to remove himself as a defendant.
