Earlier tonight, our friends Adam Schein and Chris Carlin of SNY’s Loudmouths asked me whether the NFL will discipline Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the wake of the new evidence indicating that Favre possibly exposed a former Jets in-house sideline reporter to unwanted advances and/or inappropriate photos via text message. I told them that, even though the NFL has now acknowledged that it’s looking into the situation, the absence of any evidence of a pattern of misconduct likely would preclude discipline under the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.
So much for the absence of a pattern.
Deadspin’s exposure of Favre’s alleged exposure apparently has prompted one of the Jets’ former massage therapists to come forward with an account of Favre pursuing two massage therapists -- and eventually sending them “nasty” text messages.
The husband of one of the women took offense, and supposedly dialed the number from which Favre sent the text messages. “I called him on his phone and told him I wanted an apology,” the man told A.J. Daulerio of Deadspin. “He acted all arrogant. He refused to apologize.”
The couple claims they contacted a lawyer regarding a potential sexual harassment case, but they were told that, because the women are contractors and not employees, they could not pursue the matter. (Maybe they should have talked to a better lawyer; the specific status a person holds in a workplace doesn’t provide immunity from the sexual harassment laws. Otherwise, everyone would hire contractors and the business world would be Sterling Cooper Draper Whoremonger all over again.)
The couple also claims that the text messages have been saved, and that they have not yet decided whether to go public.
If they do, the NFL will have no choice but to expand the investigation to include these new contentions.