A three-judge screen on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday upheld a trial court’s ruling last drop to dismiss former NFL player Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against other former NFL players Shannon Sharpe and host of a sports talk show host.
Sharpe may have his original co-host, Skip Bayless, to thank.
Judge Leslie Southwick argued that Sharpe was merely offering” clearly stated opinions” about a “widely reported welfare scandal” in ruling that U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett had appropriately dismissed the complaint.
Viable slander claims involve assertions that are harmful and concern an alleged truth that is in fact false or misleading ( as opposed to a defamatory assertion that is an opinion ).

Judges Kyle Duncan and Jeremy Kernodle joined Southwick in arguing that Sharpe’s remarks were protected ideas based on information that had been disclosed, including in media accounts, in a different context. Starrett tossed the situation on the grounds that Sharpe’s remarks were linguistic rhetoric.
While co-hosting FS1’s Skip and Shannon: Unquestioned with Bayless in 2022, Sharpe said:
·” Brett Favre is taking from the underrepresented”.
·” ]Favre ] stole money from people that really needed that money”.
·” The difficulty that I have with this condition, you’ve got to get a guilty mofo to steal from the lowest of the low”.
Southwick noted that Sharpe’s statements were made in response to a Mississippi Now content about the state’s civil lawsuit against Favre brought by the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Although Sharpe claimed that Favre had never repaid an extra$ 1.1 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families money, Bayless made a correct statement on the weather, saying that Favre had repaid the money, with the exception of the interest, according to Southwick. Additionally, Bayless emphasized that Favre “has not been illegally charged.”
Although Southwick acknowledged that “it is apparent that Favre considers Sharpe’s claims to be contemptuous, he added that the Uncontested program “did not suggest that Sharpe was relying on any unknown facts,” it was “understood that Favre was…
Sharpe was otherwise commenting, as a talk show host, on the news of the day.
Favre may ask for a review on bank in which case various judges from the Fifth Circuit would take the case if granted. But, rehearing requests are often granted. He could then throw a Hail Mary pass to the Supreme Court, which only accepts 1 % or 2 % of petitions, and hope it takes the case.
Leslie Southwick and Michael McCann worked together at Mississippi College School of Law in the middle of the 2000s.