Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Wednesday, July 16, 2008
HUNT COLUMN: Emotion aside, Packers made right call on Favre
Remove emotion from the unfortunate Brett Favre episode, and it pares down to this:
Did the Green Bay Packers—Mark Murphy, Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and everyone who opted to move forward with Aaron Rodgers as the No. 1 quarterback—make the right decision?
That we can’t know until some point this season.
Did they make the best decision?
Yes, they did.
Actually, Thompson, who bears responsibility as general manager, didn’t have to make that call.
Favre made it for him four months ago.
When a professional athlete says he can no longer give everything he’s got to a brutally demanding sport that requires complete mental and physical dedication, that’s it. Favre said he could still play, and no doubt he can, but declared before the world that he was mentally worn down by everything except the three-hour commitment on game day. As Favre correctly said, it would not be fair to anyone, including him, to be a three-hour-a-week football player.
The Packers asked Favre if he were absolutely sure. Of his own free will, he flew to Green Bay for the announcement. No one forced him to say he could no longer put himself through the drudgery of training camp and practice and the mind-numbing meetings. It’s the worst part of the job, but essential for teammates to be entirely certain that their leader is unconditionally committed to the group effort.
Now, does a man have the right to change his mind?
Of course he does, but only in situations he can control.
No matter how much power Favre wielded in Green Bay, he was still a player, still an employee, subject to the team’s decisions and the greater good of the franchise. A Hall of Fame player, yes, but a roster spot just like the other 52 Packers, no more, no less. The problem occurred when Favre became bigger than one of the most famous sports franchises in the world. That should never happen. It can only cause problems.
Like the colossal mess going on now.
Franchises stay. Players, no matter how beloved, go. Joe Namath taking a beating in a Los Angeles Rams uniform is a sad reminder.
People got caught up in a cult of personality with Favre. They adored him for his down-home and common-man sensibilities, and his charm. That’s genuinely him.
Did he use that to his advantage in a place like Green Bay? Sure. Favre occasionally got a pass from the fans and portions of the media, me included, when he would’ve been booed or ripped elsewhere for boneheaded mistakes.
But when a player continues to play that card in a situation where it is patently unfair to everyone involved, it’s called something else. It’s selfish.
That would not have been an adjective applied to Favre as a player. But what are we to think now if he just wants to play so badly that nothing else matters? Ask yourself: Just to scratch that itch, would he really go back to a place like Atlanta with no chance to win?
Favre owes the Packers nothing. No better or worse than any franchise, Green Bay will use and abuse a player like them all.
Meanwhile, the Packers owe Favre nothing, other than his gigantic salary should he be reactivated.
The Packers don’t have to trade Favre, but they should. Let him play, but it can’t be here. That union is irrevocably broken.
Favre opted to take a knee. It was the best call by the player and the team.
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