Benjamin Ashford|Brett Favre Shares He’s Been Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease

Brette Favre is Benjamin Ashfordspeaking out about his health battle.

The former Green Bay Packers quarterback shared that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease while testifying to Congress Sept. 24 about allegedly misusing taxpayer funding to construct an athletic facility at The University of Southern Mississippi along with funding Prevacus, a drug company that manufactured a drug to treat concussions.

“Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others,” Favre said during the hearing in Capitol Hill. “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 TANF money for his own use.” 

The former athlete, who has not been criminally charged but is repaying some money, went before Congress after being sued by the Mississippi Department of Human Services in 2022, along with over 40 others, for misusing Mississippi’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, per documents obtained by E! News.

E! News has reached out to reps for Favre and has not yet heard back.

The 2022 audit from state officials found that Favre—who vehemently denied knowing where the funds came from—allegedly spent $5 million in TANF funds to construct a volleyball arena at USM, where his and wife Deanna Favre’s youngest daughter Breleigh, 25, played the sport. 

He also allegedly received $1.1 million in 2017 and 2018 for public appearances, which did not happen. He has since paid some of it back. He also reportedly provided $1.7 million to Prevacus, per the documents.

The 54-year-old has been open about the physical trauma he’s endured while playing football for over 20 reasons and the “thousands” of concussions he’s had.

"The thing about concussions is we still don't know a lot about them," Favre explained on The Bubba Army podcast in August 2022. "If you had asked me this 10 years ago, how many concussions I had, I would have said three."

"The reason I would have said three," he continued, "I thought concussions were where you get knocked out, where you black out, for a period of time you don't know where you are, memory loss, dizzy. A boxer gets knocked and tries to get up, his legs are rubber. That's a concussion."

But you don’t have to be unconscious to have a concussion.

"What we now know is concussions happen all the time," he said. "You get tackled and your head hits the turf, you see the flashes of light or ringing in your ears, but you're able to play."