This is a tough one to discuss. There is a very PC side and a very unpopular, hard to defend side of things.
And the hardest part is I can easily agree with both sides of the argument.
Side A: Farve is a cheating, inappropriote, womanizing pig.
Side B: The woman are coming out of the woodwork now because they stand to gain from it.
Let's go B-side first. Today 2 massusses came out with lawsuits against Brett Farve, the Jets and the Jets massuse coordinator about allegations that Brett Farve made advances towords them in 2008 which when reported got them fired. OK.
Question 1: Why, if this happened in 2008 did this just come up now?
Question 2: If Farve wasn't in the spotlight now would this have even come up at all?
Yes, I know. It's a super-unpopular thought. But, if you can, put aside your feelings about how wrong Farve was and look at this from another angle. In 2008, no lawsuit. 2009 came and went with nothing. 2010 even went buy without a peep. But then, 2011, only after a very public investigation is complete, 2 people come out with a lawsuit against Farve seeming alot like a "me-too" to Jenn Sterger's accusations. I'm going to go out on a limb, but I bet they are looking for financial compensation.
This goes recently back to Tiger Woods. "Other women" in his scandal had no shame about announcing they knew they were cheating with a married man. They just see their 15 minutes of fame fly buy and they wanted part of the action. "I was mistress #5. Where's my million dollars?" "I was also harassed by Farve. I deserve money"
It's a horrible cultural issue that is undermining the fact that victims should speak up when things happen and not wait. Don't sit in the shadows and wait if/when it becomes most profitable for you. If you have been wronged speak up. IWhether the man is Brett Favre of Bob the barber, speak up. Being a victim is not a profession or a ticket to fame and riches. If you treat it that way you are only making it more difficult for the next person who has actually been wronged to get the help he or she needs.
Ok, now the other side of this coin. Who the hell does Brett Farve, his lawer, the Jets, and for that matter the NFL think they are.
Did Farve think that his non-cooperation with the NFL investigation would help him get away with it? Did the Jets think that black-balling the masseuses who made claims against Farve was helping anything? And did the NFL think that a $50,000 fine would make Farve's...dare I say...transgressions go away. The NFL is not a court of law! Does a $50,000 fine absolve Farve of all wrong-doing and make him immune to criminal charges or lawsuits?! Of course not! Whatever the intentions of the accusing women, the NFL was far too arrogant thinking a $50k slap on the wrist would make all wrongs right.
This is a league that dedicated an entire month and millions of dollars to awareness of suffering woman all over the world (Brest Cancer for those of you that missed the pink swag worn by all teams). But then they take a direct claim by a team employee and put a $50,000 price tag on it saying they couldn't exactly totally prove anything for sure.
The NFL and the Jets took a clear stance that they place the top tier of player ahead of women rights, integrity, and honor.Makes you wonder what the league's reaction would have been if this was anyone other than Farve. Oh wait, didn't Roethlisberger get 4 games for sexual assault allegations even though no charges were filed? Maybe if Big Ben can make the league a few more million bucks he'll just get a fine next time.
The truth is this isn't the first time this has happened and it won't be the last. It's just unfortunate that the NFL is trying to cover it up and the me-too lawsuits are undermining the seriousness of what happened. So what will be learned from all this drama...as usual...nothing, and that's the worst part.
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