In case you have been living under a rock Brett Favre has found himself caught up in a pretty serious scandal, to say the least. If you have not seen this story I would suggest going to Deadspin to get the gist of what is going on. Here are links to a few of the posts about it (note: post 1 contains adult material) : post1 post 2 . There have been statements that the NFL is looking to the allegations of sexual harassment and that the Jets are cooperating. Brett Favre should be seriously concerned, because if he thought his legacy was damaged by flip flopping on retirement, that isn’t even close to what will happen if these stories are true. Also he has to be very concerned about civil lawsuits especially if the photos are of him and unsolicited.
The NFL does not have the greatest reputation when it comes to domestic issues and or sexual misconduct issues, and I am sure the NFL higher ups are sensitive to this. If these allegations are true, Roger Goodell will have no choice but to end Favre’s season and essentially his career. If Rothliberger was suspended six games (reduced to four), for what he did which was possibly rape, even though there wasn’t strong enough evidence for a legal case. After the Ines Sainz incident, which also involved the Jets, Goodell is going to have a hard time sweeping this under the rug even if ESPN and other major networks are ignoring the story.
At this point I don’t expect any real reporting out of ESPN other than trade rumors and things like that. They are a major business partner of several of the sports leagues and Favre has been a cash cow for them over the past few years. Not to mention that ESPN has had its own sexual misconduct issues amongst its employees. Reporters like Peter King and Rachel Nichols who have slobbered over Favre would never dare ask him a question about this. I’m anxious to see how it is handled Monday night and even on the NFL shows on Sunday. I doubt it will get more than a mention.
As for the people who are defending Favre by tearing down the possible victim, stop. You look like a fool when you go to the “she asked for it” card because of how the woman dresses or carries herself. It DOES NOT MATTER how a woman dresses if she says “no” to advances or innuendo then you stop and leave her alone. I do not care if she is hot or sexy or has a large chest, none of that excuses sending pictures of your cock to a woman, especially a fellow employee. And that is the other thing Favre is an employee as well as the female in question. While Favre may be the quarterback, in the end that doesn’t mean anything in the eyes of the law. Sexual harassment laws and policy are pretty clear cut and if this story is true it goes far beyond basic sexual harassment and Favre’s media standing will mean nothing.
I hope the media will treat this Favre story in a professional manner without going soft on him. This is going to be very difficult for some outlets (ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports), while others will feel free to over-speculate. I’m sure the NFL hopes this takes until after the season so that they don’t have to take out a major figure during the season. In reality the league will be fine even if Favre has to take a fall for this. There will be another “good ol’ boy who just loves to play” to take his place in the hearts of NFL commentators and Favre will eventually fade into history. Whatever happens I hope this reinforces the point that these are just athletes and nothing more. Just because someone rides a tractor and plays with high school kids doesn’t make them a good guy or a humble guy. Self entitled pricks are self entitled pricks no matter what job they do or how much money they make.
