A federal judge ruled that former NFL star Shannon Sharpe was using “rhetorical hyperbole” in saying that Brett Favre was “taking from the underserved,” and, therefore, has dismissed the former quarterback’s defamation suit over a Mississippi welfare case.

U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett dismissed Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Sharpe, ruling that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to a Mississippi welfare misspending case.

Starrett also ruled that Sharpe’s comments about the former quarterback “stole money from people that really needed that money” and that someone would have to be a sorry person “to steal from the lowest of the low” was also “rhetorical hyperbole.”

Favre sued Sharpe in February for “egregiously false” statements about him on the Fox Sports talk show “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.”

Per The Associated Press, Mississippi Auditor Shad White has said that from 2016 to 2019, the Mississippi Department of Human Services misspent more than $77 million from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.

Prosecutors stated the department gave money to nonprofit organizations that spent it on projects favored by wealthy and well-connected people, such as a $5 million volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi, a project for which Favre agreed to raise money.

Monday night on X, formerly known as Twitter, Sharpe noted the dismissal of the lawsuit and thanked his legal team for handling the case.

Favre has repaid $1.1 million he received for speaking fees from a nonprofit group that spent TANF money with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. White said Favre never showed up to give the speeches.

The Mississippi Supreme Court said in August it would not remove Favre as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars of misspent welfare money meant to help some of the poorest people in the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.