Gawker Media’s coffers were boosted yet again yesterday when Deadspin got the jump on TMZ with voice mail recordings of the very-married Brett Favre putting the moves on Jenn Sterger during each of their repsective tenures with the New York Jets (as you’ll recall, Sterger was the team’s defensive coordinator). Previously, Deadspin had boasted the existence of such evidence but yesterday’s documentation achieves one very notable goal besides a traffic boost — it’s rare anyone in the blogosphere or traditional media can manage to distract TWO teams with one story, and if Favre’s lecherous efforts were aided and abetted by another Jets employee, the franchise — still reeling from Gate D Boobgate and the recent accusations of TV reporter Ines Sainz — might well have an institutional problem worthy of NFL censure. At least that’s the angle taken by Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock, who openly admits, “I™m a sinner, and I™m a Favre fan…I™m not foolish enough to climb my big ass up on a moral high horse that would never hold me.”
Strangely, the initial reaction from the mainstream media to the Favre allegations has been mostly silence.
I wasn™t expecting a Tiger Woods-like apocalypse. But it seemed like most of the media folks I monitor on Twitter ”- except Dan Wetzel and Mike Florio ” were afraid to touch the Favre situation. I™m not sure why.
Is the difference the late-night car crash and subsequent police report? Maybe.
It was a voicemail message that gave media members the confidence to aggressively condemn Tiger Woods. The alleged Favre voicemails are Deadspin™s smoking gun against Favre. You can argue there™s just one allegation against Favre and 15 directed at Tiger. Common sense says, if the Favre allegations are true, he was running plays out of the same playbook as Tiger. They™re kindred spirits.
Regardless, this story is fascinating. Deadspin alluded to this story two months ago. It magically drops four days before Favre takes on the Jets. Deadspin claims a third party ” not Sterger ” handed over all the damning supporting evidence.
Did the Jets investigate this in 2008-09 or in 2010 when Deadspin originally made mention of it? Did the Jets hold on to the material and leak it just in time for the big game? Did Sterger™s agent leak the material in hopes of boosting her career? Sterger™s the victim. Why shouldn™t she milk it to her advantage? She owes Favre nothing.
Favre’s situation reminds me more of the news about Clemens and that teenage country singer coming out as his career ended and his rep bottomed out. Tiger’s at the top of his game, or was. Favre is loathed the way Clemens was by that time. I think people are just tired of his name. As funny as it is, that’s all it is. The Jets have issues to deal with for years now, that’s more the story to me.
It’s been a solid 4 days. Shouldn’t we have heard from Sports On My Mind about the inherent racism in the inequality of media treatment between Favre and Woods?