It is not yet known if Favre faces legal consequences for his role in misusing these public funds. But his connection to it has prompted significant public scrutiny – the kind of scrutiny Favre previously faced. More than a decade ago, Jenn Sterger, a gameday host for the Jets, accused Favre of sending her lewd and harassing messages while he was quarterback for the team. (The NFL said it could not determine that Favre sent the photos to Sterger, but fined him $50,000 for failing to cooperate with the investigation.)
Sage Rosenfels, a former NFL quarterback and Favre’s Minnesota Vikings teammate, called him in a Twitter post and wrote, “Since I retired I’ve been fortunate not to be stealing millions of dollars from the poorest people in my state.” Pro Football Hall of Fame chief communications officer Rich Desrosiers said he’s received about a dozen calls from fans about Favre, all asking for him to be removed from the hall he was inducted into in 2016, no question that has outraged a number of fans,” he said.
Desrosiers said he told every caller that Favre had not yet been charged with a crime and that the bylaws of the Hall of Fame, as currently drafted, did not allow for the removal of an individual of his choosing. No one has ever been removed, including George Preston Marshall, the reportedly racist former owner of Washington’s NFL team; OJ Simpson, who has been found guilty in civil court for the murders of his former wife and her friend; and Lawrence Taylor, who pleaded guilty to two sexual offenses in 2011 after soliciting an underage woman.
Regardless of what happens to Favre in the formal frameworks documenting his footballing achievements, there’s one number that’s perhaps more striking than his streak of 321 consecutive starts: the $8 million for poor people the state accuses him of push his personal interests, even though he has earned more than $140 million in his NFL career.
That he did so while running a foundation partially committed to helping underserved Mississippi citizens seems too cynical to be true. One of the organizations listed as a Favre 4 Hope charity partner is Hope Haven, which helps Mississippi children who are victims of sexual abuse and trauma. Hope Haven executive director John James said the center usually receives a $10,000 donation from Favre’s foundation at the end of the year. He said he hopes the donations will keep coming despite the recent headlines, as the funding will help Hope Haven meet the needs of its community.