Throughout much of the season, Brett Favre has been dogged by allegations of impropriety with former Jets gameday host Jenn Sterger, and up to now, the possibility of a suspension was a very real threat.
But after spending several months gathering evidence and interviewing all parties involved, the NFL has finally handed down what it feels to be a fair punishment for Favre, and it definitely raises questions as to how far the league is willing to go to protect its star players.
In announcing that Favre would be fined $50,000 for his role in the affair with no suspension attached, the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell in effect have decided that much of the evidence presented by Sterger and others is superficial at best, and not worthy of having a suspension doled out to Favre in the same manner that fellow quarterback Ben Roethlisberger received prior to the start of the season.
Obviously there were significant differences between the two cases, as Roethlisberger faced the real possibility of criminal charges in his situation, whereas Favre’s transgressions brought only shame and negative PR to himself, the league, and his team. But the fact that the NFL hastily handed down a lengthy suspension to Roethlisberger and dragged their feet as long as possible in Favre’s case shows that there are clearly two separate standards at play when it comes to punishments for current players involved in off the field issues.
What’s also interesting in Favre’s situation is that it was only through his initial reluctance to cooperate with league officials that he was punished. Not for the actual act of sending inappropriate text messages to Sterger. The commissioner’s ruling sweeps that part of the case under the rug, as the league was unable to determine if any personal conduct policies enforced by the NFL were actually violated, despite having plenty of time to do so.
Saying they were incapable of reaching a conclusion is a nice way of saying the league doesn’t care what Favre did or didn’t do. Much like other personal conduct issues, whether or not a violation occurred is pretty clear cut. It either happened or it didn’t. Offering up a gray area explanation passes the buck off to a potential civil suit battle, keeping the league in the clear, as they really didn’t offer an opinion one way or another.
The $50,000 that Favre will be missing from his check next week is but a drop in the bucket, seeing as he’s earning close to $1 million per game this season. Avoiding the issue while pretending to care is a calculated strategy by the league and one that will absolve them of any responsibility in the matter, should the Sterger camp decide to press the issue further in the court system.
It doesn’t jive with previous precedent set by Goodell and the league in punishing other player’s transgressions, but the way in which Favre was handled makes the most sense from a financial and public relations point of view, given Favre’s status as a guaranteed Hall of Fame player and the amount of publicity he brings to the league and the Vikings.
And in the end, that’s all that really matters for the NFL.
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Written by Chris Kolb
Topics: Brett Favre, General NFL, Minnesota Vikings