HuffPo: “Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant appeared to help former NFL quarterback Brett Favre obtain federal welfare money for a new volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi, according to texts entered in the state’s civil suit over the alleged scheme.
The texts, first reported by Mississippi Today’s Anna Wolfe on Tuesday, appear to show how Bryant, the state’s Republican governor from 2012 to 2020, “guided” the former Green Bay Packers quarterback on the funding proposal for the center.
The messages reportedly reveal that Bryant, Favre and other officials worked to direct “at least $5 million” of money intended for the state’s poorest residents toward the center instead.
Favre also received $1.1 million of welfare funds in 2017 and 2018 for “motivational speeches” he never made and was asked by the state auditor to give the money back with interest, NBC News reported earlier this month.
The texts were filed by an attorney who represents Nancy New, a nonprofit founder who pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts earlier this year for her role in the scandal.
Mississippi has the highest poverty rate among states, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.”