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Brett Favre Announces Parkinson’s Diagnosis During Congressional Hearing: ‘It’s Too Late for Me’
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The news came as the retired professional athlete appeared at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, September 24.
“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,” he said during the appearance.
Favre appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee to provide testimony after he was accused of misusing taxpayer dollars in the state of Mississippi for himself and to build a new volleyball stadium at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
Regarding the volleyball stadium, Favre claimed 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.”
The funds were intended for the Temporary Assistance of Needy Families (TANF), a federal assistance program that provides cash assistance payments to low-income families with kids.
He was also accused of allocating money to the now-defunct drug company Prevacus, in which he invested in, as well as being paid $1.1 million for public appearances he never made. According to AP News, Favre has since repaid the money.
“This is also a cause dear to my heart. Recently, the doctor running the company pleaded guilty to taking [public] money for his own use,” he said at the hearing.
“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,” the former NFL star continued.
He said that with his testimony, he hoped to raise awareness for “how reforms are needed to stop the misspending of TANF funds.”
Favre has not been criminally charged and has denied allegations of wrongdoing surrounding the TANF and Prevacus scandals.
“I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight,” Favre told Fox News Digital in October 2022. “No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me. I tried to help my alma mater USM, a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.”
“State agencies provided the funds to Nancy New’s charity, the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then gave the funds to the University, all with the full knowledge and approval of other State agencies, including the State-wide Institute for Higher Learning, the Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s office,” he said at the time. “I was told that the legal work to ensure that these funds could be accepted by the university was done by State attorneys and State employees.”
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