Brett Favre, among about 40 others, is accused by Mississippi officials of receiving millions of dollars meant for the state’s poorest families.
Created in 1996 through congressional legislation, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program – best known as TANF – exists to provide cash payments to families with children living in poverty.
But instead, according to the office of Mississippi’s State Auditor, NFL hall of famer Brett Favre received more than 1 million dollars in speaking fees for speeches he never gave.
Another 5 million dollars of TANF funds were directed to the University of Southern Mississippi, where Favre is an alumnus, to construct a new volleyball arena at a time when Favre's daughter played for the program.
But in his appearance before the House Ways and Means committee, Favre portrayed himself as an unknowing victim of the scheme, which many have described as the largest public corruption scandal in state history.
“The challenges my family and I have faced over the last three years because certain government officials in Mississippi failed to protect federal TANF funds from fraud and abuse, and are unjustifiably trying to blame me… those challenges have hurt my good name and are worse than anything I’ve faced in football,” Favre read from a prepared statement before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.
“When this started I didn’t know what TANF was, now I know it’s one of our country’s most important welfare programs to help people in need,” said Favre, who earned more than $140 million in salary alone during his career, not including endorsement deals with several popular brands.
In fact, Favre’s 20 year playing career was a common refrain during the hearing, in which several Republican members of the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee chose to use their time to tease Favre about divisional rivalries and trades.
“I’m not mad at you about much, but I am mad you didn’t stay with the Atlanta Falcons,” said Congressman Drew Ferguson, who represents Georgia’s third district.
Democratic members asked why the GOP led committee even invited him, saying he hasno credentials or experience in the regulation of welfare funds.
Jarvis Dortch, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, says it's ultimately a case of some of the state’s wealthiest figures defrauding those who need government assistance the most.
“In Mississippi far too often people don’t have the means to provide something for their family,” he told the committee. “Instead, they’re prideful people that always talk about how they can make things stretch. We’re so proud of being able to do that in Mississippi, we forget we’re not getting what we’re supposed to be getting in our state.”