In a legal dispute between Pat McAfee and Brett Favre, McAfee apologized to Favre as part of a settlement agreement. On the other hand, Shannon Sharpe won his case in court without having to apologize to anyone.
According to Front Office Sports, the Federal Judge found Favre’s case laughable.
U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi Keith Starrett wrote that Sharpe’s comments are protected by the First Amendment, and granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice, meaning Favre won’t be able to refile the case.
“No reasonable person listening to the broadcast would think that Favre actually went into the homes of poor people and took their money—that he committed the crime of theft/larceny against any particular poor person in Mississippi,” Starrett wrote in the 12-page opinion.
“Sharpe’s comments were made against the backdrop of longstanding media coverage of Favre’s role in the welfare scandal and the state’s lawsuit against Favre. Listeners would have recognized Sharpe’s statements as rhetorical hyperbole.”
You can’t defame someone if you are speaking about something they are accused of. If someone is accused of double murder and has been charged or a lawsuit is pending about it, if you speak on them killing people it isn’t defamation.
Favre’s lawyers just stole his money.