Former NFL superstar Brett Favre has Parkinson’s Disease.
The longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback, who played professionally from 1991 to 2010, appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. He was there to testify about a company called Prevacus, which researched a cure for concussions and with which Favre has been controversially involved. But during his testimony, the 54-year-old ex-football star shocked the world with an unexpected reveal of his diagnosis.
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Favre went before Congress because he has been accused of convincing lawmakers in his home state of Mississippi to give him $2 million in funds fraudulently. The funds were marked for the state’s Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) program — he’s accused of using them for himself and Prevacus. He has denied those allegations and has not been criminally charged — though the state has filed a lawsuit. So, he was called before Congress — and that’s when he dropped the bomb.
Per ESPN and others, Favre stated this on the record about his lost Prevacus money:
“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. 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.”
Whoa.
Parkinson’s is a brain disease that impacts a person’s nervous system. Per the Mayo Clinic, it causes uncontrollable physical movements including shaking, and eventually makes it difficult to speak. There is no known cure. Notably Michael J. Fox has been publicly dealing with it for years and recently opened up more than ever in his documentary film Still. To hear that Favre is also suffering from it, and that his testimony here links it to the concussions he sustained during a career that spanned 302 NFL games, is jaw-dropping.
Favre’s testimony has other implications, too. He is one of more than three dozen people being sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services for allegedly misappropriating TANF funds after state auditor Shad White discovered more than $77 million missing between 2016 and 2019. In addition to the Prevacus allegation, Favre is also accused of plotting with ex-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to use $5 million of TANF funds to build a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi — where he played college football, and where his daughter later played volleyball.
So this reveal, while heartbreaking, does kind of seem like it’s being played as a card here, garnering sympathy as he’s facing some pretty serious accusations.
You can watch his testimony (below):
Jeez. Really shocking.