Brett Favre revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in a congressional hearing on welfare accountability Tuesday.
Favre testified at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee in the wake of allegations he was part of a scheme to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) state funds for personal projects.
The Hall of Fame quarterback told lawmakers that the scandal has hurt him in various ways and suggested his Parkinson’s diagnosis was caused by concussions during his playing career.
“Sadly, I also lost my investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others. As I’m sure you’ll understand, while it’s too late for me — I’ve recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s — this is also a cause dear to my heart,” he said.
Favre was accused of encouraging local officials to use welfare money to build an athletic facility and support the development of a concussion drug. A Mississippi state audit found that some $5 million in TANF resources was reallocated to pay for the construction of a volleyball facility at Favre’s alma mater — the University of Southern Mississippi, where his daughter played volleyball at the time — and that $1.7 million was directed toward a company named Prevacus, which is working to develop the concussion medication, and where he is an investor.
The former quarterback also allegedly received $1.1 million in speaking fees for speeches he never gave, which his attorneys say he has repaid.
Favre testified at Tuesday’s hearing that state officials were to blame for the misuse of funds.
“The challenges my family and I have faced over the last three years because certain government officials in Mississippi failed to protect federal TANF funds from fraud and abuse and are unjustifiably trying to blame me,” Favre said.
“Those challenges have hurt my good name and are worse than anything I have faced in football,” he added.
Favre claimed that when the situation started, he didn’t know what TANF was, but now sees it as one of the “most important” welfare programs in the country. And he said that when he found out that TANF funds were being “improperly used,” even before he was being sued, he returned the funds to the state.
“I knew and I know I had done nothing wrong. I returned the funds — no questions asked,” he said at the hearing.
To date, Favre has not been charged criminally in the welfare fraud case, but some of his alleged co-conspirators have. Prevacus’s founder, Jacob VanLandingham, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July.
According to data from the World Health Organization released last year, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease has doubled in the past 25 years.
Concussions are associated with a significant increase in chances of developing the disease. A widely cited study in 2018 found that a single traumatic brain injury raised the likelihood of Parkinson’s by as much as 56 percent.
There is no cure for Parkinson’s, but there are treatments that can prolong and improve quality of life for those with the disease.
