Favre disputes details of Mississippi state auditor's report

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brett Favre on Friday disputed a Mississippi state auditor’s report that said the Hall of Fame quarterback received $1.1 million in welfare money for multiple speaking engagements that he didn’t actually attend.

Favre told ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde & Tausch” radio show he instead was being paid for his role in radio public service announcements and advertisements that ran for a few years in Mississippi. Favre reiterated that he is paying back the money.

“I did ads that ran for three years, was paid for it, no different than any other time that I’ve done endorsements for other people, and I went about my way,” Favre said. “For (the auditor) to say I took $1.1 million and didn’t show up for speaking engagements is absolutely, 100% not true.’’

An audit released Monday had said Favre Enterprises received $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018 from the Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit group whose former leader has been indicted in a welfare embezzlement scheme.

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the U.S., and the community education center had contracts with Human Services to spend money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, also known as TANF.

According to the auditor’s report, Favre was supposed to make speeches for at least three events but “upon a cursory review of those dates, auditors were able to determine that the individual contracted did not speak nor was he present for those events.”

Favre emphasized Friday that the money had nothing to do with scheduled speaking engagements and that he has “never no-showed anybody.”

“That’s not me,” Favre said. “I mean, I would certainly never do anything like that.’’

Auditor Shad White said his...