Pro Football Hall of Fame member Brett Favre announced that he suffers from Parkinson’s disease during a congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
During his testimony before the House Budget Committee, Favre discussed Prevacus, a company that makes a concussion drug and received $2 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund. The famous quarterback was Prevacus’ biggest investor, and text messages show he began asking state officials for help raising money for the company in November 2018, ESPN reported.
“Unfortunately, I also lost an investment in a company that I thought was developing a breakthrough concussion drug that I thought would help others,” Favre said. “I’m sure you’ll understand that while it’s too late for me because I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s, this is also a cause that is close to my heart.”
According to the World Health Organization, Parkinson’s disease is a “brain disorder that causes movement disorders, mental health problems, sleep problems, pain, and other health problems.” There is currently no cure and it is estimated that nearly one million Americans are affected by the disease.
Prevacus founder Jacob VanLandingham pleaded guilty to wire fraud in July when he admitted using Mississippi welfare money to pay off gambling debts and other debts, ESPN reported.
Favre, 54, spoke about his involvement in the Mississippi welfare case and was not criminally charged. He is one of more than 40 people sued by the state of Mississippi seeking repayment of TANF funds, according to USA Today.
Mississippi is seeking to recoup more than $90 million, more than $5 million of which went to the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation to cover the cost of building a volleyball arena.
Favre’s daughter began playing on the school’s volleyball team in 2017.
“I wanted to help my alma mater and do something good for the community,” Favre said during the hearing. “Southern Miss introduced me to the nonprofit to see if they could help with funding. I had no way of knowing that there was anything wrong with the state funding of the project, especially since it was publicly approved by many state agencies and several attorneys, including the state attorney general.”
“A judicial gag order prohibits the parties from discussing the details of the litigation,” he added. “Instead, I am here to share what I have now seen firsthand, which is that reforms are needed to stop the misappropriation of TANF funds.”
So far, Favre has repaid $1.1 million he received as a speaking fee from a nonprofit organization, but Mississippi Auditor Shad White said the famous football star still owes nearly $730,000 in interest, USA Today reported.
When Favre was asked in a 2018 interview how many concussions he had suffered, he said he only knew “three or four” but believed he may have suffered more than 1,000 concussions during his 20-year NFL career.
“If you have ringing in your ears and you see stars, that’s a concussion,” Favre said on the “Today” show, according to ESPN. “And if that’s a concussion, I’ve had hundreds, maybe thousands, over the course of my career, that’s scary.”
