This week, the ongoing story involving Brett Favre and misused Mississippi welfare fund money got a bit darker with the confirmation that the NFL legend knew he was taking money intended to help the poor and using it to build a volleyball arena.
Favre’s involvement, and how it changes the way many NFL fans will look at the Hall of Famer, has a lot of people thinking about Colin Kaepernick and the way the two quarterbacks have been treated for their actions.
Thanks to the reporting of Mississippi Today, we’ve learned a lot over the last year about former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant and schemes to redirect millions in subgrants from the Mississippi Department of Human Services welfare department to people and organizations that appear to have been supportive of his campaign or administration. One of those people is Brett Farve, who appears to have benefited in various ways, including over $800,000 in “speaking fees.” Favre reportedly repaid around $600,000 but not the rest, which was considered interest.
It was also known that Favre had lobbied the governor for $5 million to build a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi where his daughter played. This week, we saw text messages from Favre that appear to confirm that he knew that the money was intended to go to welfare recipients and those in need and that he wanted to ensure that this knowledge never became public.
The idea that Favre is a “bad guy” isn’t a new one. He was accused on several occasions during his playing career of texting inappropriately with women, including sending photos of his genitals. However, the latest news seems to be driving home the ways that “The Gunslinger” was always treated as a hero and welcomed into the NFL fold, while someone like Colin Kaepernick, who sacrificed his NFL career to take a stand for social justice, has been essentially blackballed from the league.
It's wild to see how many people were furious about Colin Kaepernick taking a knee who aren't mad about Brett Farve taking money that should have gone to people in need.
— Spencer Toder (@SpencerToder) September 14, 2022
Not just the NFL but big sports media networks. So many Colin Kaepernick segments aired but a Hall of Fame QB stealing money from the poor doesn't warrant as much attention. https://t.co/PQzkDof3QZ
— Charles Preston (@_CharlesPreston) September 15, 2022
Colin Kaepernick took a knee for civil rights. Brett Favre (and their former Governor) took millions from the poorest in Mississippi.
And some perspective…Mississippi is the poorest U.S. state, and it is The state with the highest child poverty rate.https://t.co/0XhS8wKVp1
— Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline) September 15, 2022
The @NFL blackballed Colin Kaepernick while Brett Farve, the Republican governor, & goons were white-balling Mississippi. 😮💨 https://t.co/jn7R7zV86r
— Johnny Ray Gill (@JohnnyRayGill) September 15, 2022
It will be interesting to see if the NFL tries to distance itself from Favre as this situation plays out. Regardless, it provides some interesting perspective on how standing up for those in need gets you shunned while stealing from them isn’t as bad so long as you’re a certain type of person.