Volleyball Team Got $130,000 Intended for Cancer

Brett Favre’s foundation gave $130,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation during 2018-20, the same years that Favre was working to finance a new volleyball center at the university, The Athletic reported.

The foundation, Favre 4 Hope, has a stated purpose to support disadvantaged children and cancer patients.

Favre was key in moving more than $5 million in welfare dollars toward the building of the volleyball facility while his daughter was a player on the USM volleyball team. He posted on social media that he did not know where the funding for the volleyball facility came from.

“You can’t say you’re raising money for one purpose and then spend it on something totally different. Charities have an ethical obligation, and in some cases a legal obligation, to fulfill the intentions of its donors in the way funds are spent,” said Laurie Styron, executive director of CharityWatch.

Favre’s lawyer declined to comment.

The university did not respond to several requests for an interview, the Athletic said.