SiriusXM Pandora has pulled a radio show hosted by former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Brett Favre after the professional football player was linked to a growing scandal involving the misuse of state welfare funds in Mississippi.
The show, which aired on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Channel 88), released its latest episode on September 13 and was suspended from the satellite and streaming radio platform a short time later.
The suspension comes after the Mississippi Department of Human Services sued Favre and several other professional athletes who were alleged to have spent $20 million that was earmarked for the Temporary Assistance for Needly Families.
Text messages reported by various local media outlets purported to show Favre working in concert with local politicians in order to divert money away from the fund for a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Two years ago, the online news outlet Missisippi Today reportedly asked Favre if he had discussed the volleyball stadium project with then-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant, to which he responded, “no.” Text messages later revealed that Favre supposedly asked associates if his involvement with the volleyball stadium project could be kept hidden from the news media.
Through his attorney, Favre has denied any wrongdoing. As of Tuesday, he has not been criminally charged in the scheme, though he has been named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by state officials who are seeking to get some of that money returned.
The scandal has cast Favre in a negative light, with companies distancing themselves from the quarterback over the last few weeks.
Last week, an ESPN Radio affiliate in Milwaukee said it would suspend the “Brett Favre Show” podcast as the civil lawsuit against him works its way through the court system. Favre once played for the Green Bay Packers, a team based in Wisconsin.
Over the weekend, a SiriusXM spokesperson said his SiriusXM NFL Radio program would also not air for the foreseeable future, with the channel airing alternate programming in its place.
