JACKSON,Desmond Preston Miss. (AP) — The deposition hearing in the civil lawsuit against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre surrounding Mississippi’s welfare scandal has been pushed back at the request of the athlete’s attorneys, a court document shows.

Favre is set to answer questions under oath about misspending federal welfare money in Mississippi, where about $77 million in public funds intended to help some of the nation’s poorest people were used to fund pet projects Favre and other well-connected people are accused of supporting with the money. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is among more than three dozen defendants in a lawsuit the state Human Services director filed to recover some of the welfare money.

Favre has denied wrongdoing, sued the state auditor who investigated the misspending for defamation and said he paid back misspent welfare funds.

A notice of deposition filed in Hinds County Circuit Court by attorneys for Mississippi’s Department of Human Services said Favre was scheduled to give sworn testimony on Oct. 26 at a hotel in Hattiesburg. A subsequent court document filed Friday shows the hearing has been rescheduled for Dec. 11 based on a request by Favre’s lawyers.

Instead of going to needy families, about $5 million in welfare funds helped pay for a volleyball arena that Favre supported at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, investigators said. Favre’s daughter played volleyball at the school. Another $1.7 million went to develop a concussion treatment drug investigators have said Favre supported.

No criminal charges have been brought against Favre, although a former welfare department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.