Brett Favre says all he asks for is respect. Mike McCarthy insists respect is all he’s ever shown Favre.
McCarthy opened up to Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com this week as he prepared to coach against Favre, and he stressed that he has nothing but respect for Favre, who will lead the Minnesota Vikings into Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers Sunday.
“He’s fulfilling his desires and ambition to continue to play. I don’t think anybody disrespects or has a hard time with that,” McCarthy told Marvez. “There’s a time for him to focus on his situation. I know I am focused on the Green Bay Packers.”
Prior to the 2008 season, Favre didn’t make it easy for McCarthy to focus on the Green Bay Packers. After Favre retired and un-retired, the Packers told him they didn’t want him back and ultimately traded him to the Jets. But even though there were some hard feelings on both sides, McCarthy says he always wanted to show respect for Favre, who had been Green Bay’s quarterback for every game since 1992.
“As an organization we were in a tough spot,” McCarthy said. “I can honestly say during that time, I had two things on my mind: To make sure to respect the organization and not disrespect Brett Favre. I felt we did that.
“You didn’t want to disrespect him or his time here. We want to be respected for being put in a tough situation and making a tough decision.”
So from McCarthy’s standpoint, the message is clear: I respect Favre. I just want to beat him.