Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre announced he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while testifying in front of Congress.
Favre, 54, made the admission while speaking to the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday, September 24 about his potential misuse of taxpayer money in his home state of Mississippi.
“Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others, and I’m sure you’ll understand why it’s too late for me because I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” Favre said.
The Ways and Means Committee was discussing the disbursement of Temporary Assistance of Needy Families (TANF) funds, of which Favre is accused of siphoning millions of dollars for himself and toward a new volleyball stadium the the University of Southern Mississippi, his alma mater where his daughter was also on the volleyball team.
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Favre — who played 20 seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Green Bay Packers — is also accused of falsely allocating the funds to defunct drug company Prevacus, of whom Favre was the top investor.
“Recently, the doctor running the company pleaded guilty to taking TANF money for his own use,” Favre told Congress.
The former quarterback also received $1.1 million in speaking fees for speeches he never gave. According to his attorneys, Favre has repaid the fees.
To date, Favre has never been criminally charged. He has denied any wrongdoing with respect to the allegations regarding TANF and Prevacus.
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During his testimony, Favre called out “certain government officials in Mississippi” for failing to protect misuse of the TANF funds. Favre said the officials are “unjustifiably trying to blame me.”
“Those challenges have hurt my good name and are worse than anything I faced in football,” Favre continued. “When this started, I didn’t know what TANF was. Now I know that TANF is one of the country’s most important welfare programs to help people in need.”
Favre said a gag order was in place to prevent him from talking specifically about the litigation, but wanted to shine a light on “how reforms are needed to stop the misspending of TANF funds.”
On the topic of the volleyball stadium, Favre insisted he had “no way of knowing there was anything wrong with how the state funded the project, especially since it was publicly approved by many state agencies and multiple attorneys, including the Attorney General.”
