Brett Favre on $77M Mississippi welfare scandal: 'I have been unjustly smeared in the media' [View all]

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre, currently embroiled in a $77 million Mississippi state welfare fund scandal, released his first statement on the scandal itself on Tuesday claiming that he is innocent of any crimes.

"I have been unjustly smeared in the media," Favre said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital. "I have done nothing wrong, and it is past time to set the record straight.

"No one ever told me, and I did not know, that funds designated for welfare recipients were going to the University or me. I tried to help my alma mater USM, a public Mississippi state university, raise funds for a wellness center. My goal was and always will be to improve the athletic facilities at my university.

"State agencies provided the funds to Nancy New’s charity, the Mississippi Community Education Center, which then gave the funds to the University, all with the full knowledge and approval of other State agencies, including the State-wide Institute for Higher Learning, the Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s office.