But after news broke that former football player Brett Favre reportedly asked to divert welfare funding to build a volleyball court, author Jeff Pearlman took to Twitter this week to tell readers not to bother with his biography of Favre. Gunslinger.” Favre is one of several people being sued by the State of Mississippi, alleging they misspent millions of dollars in welfare money. The former NFL star has not been charged with a criminal offense and has returned the money, saying in a social media post that he did not know the money came from welfare funds. The state says Favre still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. The headlines prompted a statement from Perlman about the book he wrote years ago about the professional athlete.
“On the day of Favre’s extensive revelations, I want to share something: I wrote a biography of the man that was largely glowing,” Pearlman wrote in a Tuesday thread on Twitter. “Football heroics, overcoming obstacles, practical joker, etc. Yes, it included his vulgarity, his addictions, his treatment of women. But it was quite positive. “And, looking at it now, if I’m brutally honest — I would advise people not to read it. He is mean. He doesn’t deserve the icon treatment. He doesn’t deserve the recognition.” Gunslinger — whose full title is “The Remarkable, Improbable, Iconic Life of Brett Favre: Gunslinger” — was released in 2016. It was Pearlman’s seventh book and his third biography of a sports figure. The best The New York Times – bestselling sportswriter has also written books that follow specific teams. “Regards, do not buy the book, do not take it out of the library,” Perlman wrote on Tuesday. “Hey. There are so many better people out there who deserve your hours of reading.” Perlman noted in a follow-up thread Thursday that while his biography of Favre wasn’t glowing praise of the man, saying he “drew into his addictions, his treatment of women,” he now believes that Favre as a subject does . not worth anyone’s time. He also stated that he did not interview Favre for the biography, although he did speak with family members, teammates and coaches. This week, texts between the former football player and a Mississippi governor were released that allegedly show Favre arranging more than $1 million in welfare money to finance one of his pet projects, a university volleyball facility. The texts showed that Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, who is leaving office in 2020, was “joined” in the deal to move the money, the Associated Press reported. That money was originally intended to help low-income families in the state through a nonprofit, but was moved to ensure Favre could use it, according to court documents. In one text, court documents show, Favre asked if “anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?” This message was reportedly sent before he publicly stated that he did not know the money was coming from welfare. Perlman called the alleged funneling of that money “so grotesque, so monstrous.” Favre was fined US$50,000 by the NFL for not cooperating with investigators looking into the allegations. According to the league, forensic analysis failed to prove Favre was behind the messages, but he was disciplined by the NFL for not being “honest in many ways” during the investigation, it said at the time. Favre played primarily with the Green Bay Packers during his 20 seasons in the National Football League.