Following the release text messages from Brett Favre that appear to show he received state welfare funding from former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant to build a new volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, some of the brands the former NFL quarterback worked with dropped him.
Companies such as Sirius XM and ESPN Milwaukee distanced themselves Favre. However, one brand continued to show advertisements using Favre: Copper Fit.
But as of Wednesday, Copper Fit has removed photos and references to Favre from its website, per Front Office Sports. The quarterback previously was featured on an individual page on the website. But it has been taken down.
However, Copper Fit hasn’t yet removed Favre’s name or likeness from its Instagram and YouTube accounts. The company has not commented on its relationship with the Pro Football Hall of Famer since deleting Favre from its website.
A month ago, Copper Fit backed Favre despite the welfare scandal.
“Copper Fit has worked with Brett Favre for nearly 9 years,” Copper Fit’s statement at the time read. “He has always acted honorably, and we know him to be a very decent man. To our knowledge, he was cleared of any wrong-doing two years ago. We are confident that will be the case in the civil suit.”
Favre is currently one of dozens of individuals being sued by the state of Mississippi for misappropriating welfare funds. Text messages obtained by Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today show Favre, Bryant, nonprofit founder Nancy New and former welfare agency director John Davis worked together to funnel at least $5 million of the state’s welfare funds toward construction of a volleyball stadium at USM, Favre’s alma mater. Favre’s daughter also played volleyball at the school.
In the texts, Favre reportedly asks New whether any money he received for the volleyball stadium can be traced back to its source by the media. New said no, saying she understands why Favre would be “uneasy about that.”
New already has pleaded guilty to 13 felony counts related to the fraud case in which at least $77 million earmarked for needy recipients was misspent, according to Wolfe.
New is helping the prosecution as part of her plea deal and says she worked to help Favre at the instruction of Bryant. The messages also show that Favre reportedly received a separate $1.1 million welfare contract to promote the program, with Favre offering to “record a few radio spots.” However, he did not record the radio appearances.
Davis recently pleaded guilty to two federal charges, including one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal loans and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Favre has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing and has reportedly repaid the $1.1 million. He has said he didn’t know the money he received came from welfare funds.
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