Brett Favre is not receiving good news regarding his defamation lawsuit against Pat McAfee.
The former NFL punter and national sports podcaster have filed a motion to dismiss a defamation suit brought against him by a former professional quarterback tied to the largest welfare scandal in Mississippi history. McAfee filed a motion to dismiss the charges brought against him by retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre, who has accused him of making libelous statements against him on his popular nationwide podcast.
On The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee stated he had “tied the hands of poor people” and “took money right out of their pockets.” He also joked that Favre belonged to the Sticky Bandits, which was the duo of robbers in the American motion picture classic Home Alone.
Favre demanded a retraction from McAfee and sued when McAfee refused the demand.
“As a public figure bringing suit against a media defendant for reporting on matters of public concern, which are subject of official proceedings and detailed at length in public records, Favre cannot state a claim for defamation upon which relief can be granted,” attorneys for McAfee wrote.
His lawyers are now claiming that McAfee was engaging in hyperbole in the trademark style of “unconventional and humorous reporting on hot topics in sports.”
“No reasonable listener would have interpreted his comments as actual statements of fact about Favre,” they wrote.
“A verbatim recitation of these facts… would have produced no different effect on the minds of The Show’s listeners than McAfee’s hyperbolic rhetoric.”
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However, they argue that even if the host’s comments could be interpreted as statements of fact, “they would be substantially true.”
They point to the fact that prior to the show in question, Favre had been sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services “for his involvement in the diversion of $3.2 million in TANF… to himself.”
Attorneys go on to state that the lawsuit, as well as news articles, also point out that Favre was involved in “the misdirection of an additional $5 million in TANF funds to his alma mater… for construction of a volleyball facility.”
“A verbatim recitation of these facts… would have produce no different effect on the minds of The Show’s listeners than McAfee’s hyperbolic rhetoric.”
Here’s how social media responded:
Lawyers for Favre now have until May 19th to respond:
