NFL legend Brett Favre has been in hot water the past few weeks following news of him taking money from state welfare funds and using it to build a new volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi. USM is Favre’s alma mater and where his daughter went to play collegiate volleyball. 

Mississippi is known for being one of the poorest states in America, so some of their citizens need every penny from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. A non-profit group was caught embezzling money from this fund to pay Favre $1.1 million for speaking engagements, but he never showed up to them. He denied that he was paid this money, but he also said he was repaying the $1.1 million, which contradicts his denial.

Most recently in the lawsuit against the embezzlers, text messages were released between Favre and former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant. Bryant was telling Favre that the funds for the TANF program were tightly monitored and spending it on a volleyball facility would be a misuse of the money, which could be illegal. Favre continued to push for the money anyways. He tried guilting Bryant into it by saying “You are a Southern Miss Alumni, and folks need to know you are also a supporter of the University.”

Yesterday, Favre released a statement regarding all the news surrounding his name. In his statement, he said, “I have been unjustly smeared in the media. I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight. No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me.”

There is obviously no proof of Favre knowing the money came from the TANF program, but the text messages between him and Bryant do prove that he knew the money was coming from programs that help the poor. I don’t know how you can deny that. 

Many people on Twitter are confused as to why this story isn’t getting as much attention as they think it deserves. One of the NFL’s all-time greats has taken money from the underprivileged in one of the poorest states in America, and people would rather talk about other things happening around the NFL.

Favre has still not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing, and I don’t know if he ever will, but he is definitely losing popularity with people who once adored him, including Mississippi citizens.