Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has dropped his defamation lawsuit against sports media personality Pat McAfee, both parties announced Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
What they say
“As I confirmed in my court papers and I repeat here, my statements expressed in the style of a comedian are based only on public information and allegations,” McAfee said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday.
“I respect the hell out of Brett Favre the football player and his Hall of Fame career on the field, and I have no personal knowledge of any case involving Brett in Mississippi. I’m happy to report that based solely on I re-explain these points now, without any compensation, Brett withdraws his case against me.
“I am pleased that Pat McAfee and I have settled this litigation,” Favre said announced in a tweet. “Like Pat said, he tries to be funny and not comment based on any personal knowledge. We both prefer to talk about football.
Backstory
Favre’s complaint alleges that McAfee defamed him with the following two statements: “Every time his name is brought up, we have to talk about him tying the hands of poor people and taking money from in their pockets” and Favre “certainly is in the middle of stealing from the poor people of Mississippi right now.
McAfee’s filing noted that the comments were preceded by, “from the information we have now,” and, “obviously, Brett Favre Enterprises says this is all wrong.” McAfee’s motion to dismiss also noted that despite adding these caveats, as a public figure Favre failed to allege that McAfee acted with “actual malice,” the high-bar standard in libel and defamation law required to convict. The defendant must have been found with malice, or knowingly disregarded the truth, to be found liable.
Favre publicly denied wrongdoing in response to his alleged involvement in a high-profile public corruption case in Mississippi.
Required reading
(Photo: Mike Lawrie / Getty Images)
