Former NFL player Brett Favre attends day 3 of SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVI on February 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM )/ Phil Bryant participates in a panel discussion during the annual Milken Instit JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Newly revealed text messages show how deeply involved a Mississippi governor was in directing more than $1 million in welfare money to Brett Favre to help pay for one of the retired NFL quarterback’s pet projects.Instead of the money going to help low-income families in one of the nation’s poorest states, as intended, it was funneled through a nonprofit group and was spent on a new $5 million volleyball facility at a university that the football star and the governor both attended.One of the texts from 2017 showed Republican Gov.
Phil Bryant, who left office in 2020, was "on board" with the arrangement. The state is suing Favre and others, alleging they misspent millions of dollars in welfare money.
The director of the nonprofit has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Mississippi’s largest public corruption case in decades.The texts were in court documents filed Monday in state court by an attorney for the nonprofit known as the Mississippi Community Education Center.
Messages between Favre and the center’s executive director, Nancy New, included references to Bryant. The documents also included messages between Bryant and Favre and Bryant and New.RELATED: Dow falls 1,250 as inflation maintains grip on US economy"Just left Brett Farve," Bryant texted New on July 16, 2019, misspelling the athlete’s last name. "Can we help him with his project.