Perhaps Goodell was worried he may have to fine himself if he unleashed a devastating hit on one of the NFL's last remaining living legends. The $50,000 fine Goodell took nearly two months to impose on Favre isn't even a slap on the wrist. It's more like a pinkie jab across the cheek. $50K for a man making nearly $700K a week? That's like giving The Donald a ticket for jaywalking outside the Trump Marina. Steelers LB James Harrison was fined $75,000 for being a little too aggressive in doing the job he's paid to do. Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather and Falcons cornerback were fined $50K for doing the same thing. Only after sparks started to fly over the weak nature of Favre's penalty did the league decide they may have gotten a little carried away and opted to lessen the fines of the Harrison, Robinson and Meriweather. What about Jets conditioning coach Sal Alosi? He got docked double what Favre got for tripping Dolphins defensive back Nolan Carroll. So, helmet-to-helmet hits and pulling the rug out from a player....really bad. Sexually harassing a female team employee....meh, slightly frowned upon.
My thoughts on the Favre-Jenn Sterger drama have been published in this very spot, and quite frankly, the story has become so old hat that it doesn't bear repeating again. People have their opinions of Favre and people have their opinions of Sterger. Nothing said here will change that, so I won't even bother. This has more to do with the image of Commissioner Goodell and how his latest laying of the hammer seems to contradict his formerly-tough stance on lowering the boom on those that besmirch the shield. Beyond the fines mentioned earlier, there was Goodell making a name for himself early on by coming down hard on Mike Vick and his dogfighting, as well as the off-the-field hijinx of guys like Plaxico Burress, Donte Stallworth and Pac-Man Jones. Hell, even Big Ben got a four-game ban for ALLEGEDLY sexually assaulting a woman(or two) because having a 2-time Super Bowl winner being accused of rape makes the league look bad. Brandon Marshall got suspended for putting his own arm through his entertainment center. Favre couldn't get at least a one-game ban for dragging the league through the mud these last few months?
Goodell can say that the reasoning beyond his fine was because Favre failed to cooperate with the investigation. The real reason to anyone with common sense: Fear. This "investigation" started in late October. Sterger testified in early November. It shouldn't have taken the league this long to come to the conclusion that Favre was never going to speak to them and that, without his testimony, they didn't have much of a case. Where I'm from, if you are accused of a crime, and you don't go out of your way to plead your innocence, you probably did something wrong. It's evident to me that Goodell spared Favre a suspension because he didn't want to see Favre's vaunted consecutive games streak end on a league-imposed note. Once the streak ended a cold Monday night in Detroit, Goodell had ample time to strike Favre down. He didn't. With the Vikings season over from the get-go, Goodell stalled and stalled and dragged his feet worse than Bushwick Bill in making a decision on Favre even while a suspension clearly wouldn't derailed an already lost season for the Vikes. He sat back and watched Favre oversell injury after injury like Vince Carter in the Conference Finals and try to play through the pain like some cowboy with one bullet left in a gun that keeps jamming on him. Favre tried to muster the hero act to try to erase the filth that lies on his image from this latest sordid ordeal. It didn't work for most of America. It worked on Goodell. Forced to choose between preserving a fading legend's legacy and maintaining his usual hard stance on upholding the sanctity of the league's perception, Goodell chose the former. The man who made rule changes in the middle of the season because defensive ball hawks were doing their job a little too well suddenly got squeamish on the idea of being "that guy who punctuated Favre's career with a suspension". Let's not kid ourselves. Regardless of what you thought about Favre before or after this sexting scandal, the man is going to the Hall of Fame. The man is going to end his career as one of three best guys to ever play his position. Brett Favre is still a legend. To quote Kenny Powers, his face cashes checks. That being said, his ASS should have been suspended for showing his DICK to someone who is not his wife, but the league had no BALLS. If this whole drawn-out affair was about justice, then Favre should have at least had to sit for a. making a mockery of the league by getting himself caught up in this mess(whether he sent the pics or not, and his actions thus far would suggest he did, he still had no business looking for love outside his marriage. In this day and age, a public figure like Favre had to be smart enough to know nothing behind-the-scenes will remain in the dark for long), b. the pain and embarrassment caused to Sterger(not to mention, the embarrassment and pain he caused his wife, albeit not a league matter) and c. ducking the league office like one of the baby daddies on Maury Povich dodging child support.
The irony of Goodell's ruling is that, in trying to find closure on a messy situation, he opened up a can of worms. How can Goodell expect to be taken seriously after spending his first few years in office as Judge Dredd and then spending the last few months as Barney Fife? And what message can he possibly send to other female employees who may run into awkward situations like this? "If you get courted by an athlete, make sure he's not real famous, because otherwise, you're on your own, ladies"? Whether Sterger sues Favre like so many are reporting she will, remains to be seen. Frankly, this drama dragged on far longer than it should have and the ending was far more disappointing than "No Country For Old Men".
A woman(or women, if you count the violated massage therapists) was wronged by a man who failed to fess up to his crimes because he was scared what an admission would do to his sparkling image. Lucky for Brett Favre, the league was just as scared of tarnishing it as he was.
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