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Green Bay Offers Favre an Insult Vantage Point

Posted on: Monday, 4 August 2008, 06:15 CDT

By William C. Rhoden

As the National Football League celebrated its Hall of Fame weekend, a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Brett Favre, was being told by his team that he can't leave the plantation: that he won't be released, that he won't be traded to a rival, that he will be traded only for a king's ransom.

Brett Favre deserves better. This is not conduct worthy of a franchise like the Green Bay Packers, certainly not on a weekend when players who have given so much to the game were honored. Given Favre's tenure and stature, the Packers should have had a what- happens-if-he-changes-his-mind contingency plan that would accommodate his return.

Ted Thompson, the Packers' general manager, and Mark Murphy, the team's president, should feel ashamed of themselves, followed closely by the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell.

The greatest insult was the Packers' offer of a reported $20 million to Favre to stay retired, the idea being that this is all about money. Favre's career was about performance; compensation was a byproduct of performance.

When you listen to Hall of Fame speeches in any sport, inductees don't talk about the amount of money they made in their career. They talk about the joy of competing at the highest level and of having their talent recognized.

That the president of a team would offer a player of Favre's stature money to stay away is a fireable offense.

Favre should reject the Packers' offer. If he accepts it, his bank account will be fortified, but his legacy will be more tarnished than if he plays next season and his team goes 8-8.

The bizarre drama of this offer, now going into its second week, took some of the luster off Hall of Fame festivities, where old, aching warriors, with knee and hip replacements, welcomed new members into the fold.

None of them have ever seen a spectacle like this: a player of Favre's stature being told he is not wanted by the franchise he piloted to glory.

Willie Lanier, the Hall of Fame middle linebacker, said he was flabbergasted.

"There has not been anybody with that kind of high profile who's played that many games, been small-town America, had all the records, has not been injured and ended up one game away from a Super Bowl," Lanier said by telephone from Canton, Ohio, where the NFL held its festivities. "You'd think that would cause someone to say, 'Boy, if we got that close, maybe if the stars align right, who knows?'"

During the past few weeks, the U.S. news media have conjectured about the best new home for Favre. Oddly, considering his stature, there really hasn't been a fit. The reason is that Green Bay is the only fit for Favre - and not as the Packers' house boy. Green Bay is home, not Tampa Bay or New York or Carolina. Favre's home is in Green Bay, and everyone, including Aaron Rodgers, the Packers' new starting quarterback, knows it. In fact, if he is the leader the Packers think he is, Rodgers should prevail upon management to let Favre return.

The NFL released a statement explaining why it has taken so long to act on the Favre reinstatement letter: "The Packers and Brett Favre are continuing their discussions. The commissioner preferred to let those discussions continue rather than act on the reinstatement petition today."

Goodell should persuade Green Bay's executives to let go of ego and do what's best for the game: admit their mistake and welcome Favre back to training camp with open arms. And pull Rodgers aside, extend his contract and ask him to let the franchise buy a little more time.

There have been ferocious debates about Favre that in many ways go beyond football. In the fragile U.S. economic climate in which jobs are being lost, there is a poignancy in watching a celebrated employee, who has given so much, not be allowed a change of heart about retirement. Sports should accommodate such a change.

Instead, the Packers have threatened, and they have ignored. Now the club is pleading: Please, Brett. Pretty please.

The Packers are willing to pay him to be the invisible man. They don't want Favre in Minnesota, and they don't want him in Chicago. They want Favre to be part of the Packers' brand.

Favre has insisted all along that this is not about money, but a mixture of honor and glory and the love of the game.

You can't fault Favre if he takes the money, but hopefully he will tell Thompson and Murphy to keep their millions. He wants to play football.

On Hall of Fame weekend, the Packers wanted to turn Brett Favre into a $20 million greeter. The league must be bigger, if not better, than this.

Originally published by The New York Times Media Group.

Source: International Herald Tribune

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