Brett Favre: US football star files for defamation over Mississippi fraud claims

Former American football star Brett Favre has filed defamation lawsuits against Mississippi's state auditor and two popular sports media personalities.

The Hall of Fame ex-quarterback is embroiled in a sprawling civil suit involving the alleged misuse of state welfare funds.

Mr Favre, 53, has not been criminally charged and denies wrongdoing.

His suits target state auditor Shad White, and commentators Shannon Sharpe and Pat McAfee.

State investigators have been probing how $77m (£64m) in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds meant for the state's neediest families was made available to wealthy Mississippians for various purposes.

Five people - including former professional wrestler Brett DiBiase - have so far pleaded guilty to federal and state charges in what has been described as the state's "largest public fraud scheme".

Mr Favre was accused of diverting $5m to build a volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, his alma mater, at the time his daughter played on the team.

He was also reportedly paid $1.1m in TANF funds for speaking engagements that never occurred. He has repaid that sum in full, but Mr White's office argues he still owes $228,000 in interest payments.

Investigators claim he knew he was receiving government money from an agency responsible for handling programs that help the poor, but Mr Favre strongly maintains he did not not.

His suit against Mr White accuses the auditor of "an outrageous media campaign of malicious and false accusations" that traded on his "celebrity" for political gain.

In a statement, the auditor's spokesman Fletcher Freeman responded by claiming that everything Mr White has said "is true and is backed by years of audit work by the professionals at the Office of the State Auditor".

"Mr. Favre has called Auditor White and his team liars despite repaying some of the money our office demanded from him. He's also claimed the auditors are liars despite clear documentary evidence showing he benefitted from misspent funds," Mr Freeman said.

Mr Favre's suits against Mr Sharpe and Mr McAfee accuse them of making "egregiously false and defamatory statements" about him on their respective shows.

Mr Sharpe, co-host of the Fox Sports 1 show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, referred to Mr Favre unfavourably and said he stole "from the lowest of the low", while Mr McAfee called him a "thief" who was "stealing from poor people in Mississippi" on The Pat McAfee Show podcast.

Neither man has so far formally responded to the suit.