We assume that Phil Reese thinks he’s helping his client, Jenn Sterger, find a new job in the media. We assume that neither Reese nor Sterger realize that Reese is actually, in our view, doing more harm than good.
Reese’s latest attempt to change the perception that Sterger was at best a willing participant in some type of flirtation with Favre (thanks to the account provided by former Sterger friend Allison Torres) and at worst an opportunistic gold digger who is manipulating the situation either to enhance her career or line her pockets came on Thursday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show. Specifically, Reese told Dan Patrick that Sterger won’t sue anyone if the NFL suspends Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.
“If the Commissioner suspends Favre and puts in a program to make sure this doesn’t happen again . . . 100 percent. Jenn would not pursue any litigation against Favre, against the Jets, against anybody,” Reese told Patrick.
Reese also is frustrated by the fact that a decision has not yet been made.
“I don’t know what’s taking so long here,” Reese said. “We have done everything to assist the investigation. We have gone above and beyond. We’ve been told the league is going to do the right thing.”
Um, Phil? One reason for the delay is that your client waited for weeks to decide whether to “do the right thing” and talk to the league, presumably after exhausting all efforts to finagle a settlement and deciding not to sue Favre. Reese also seems to think that the league should merely take Sterger at her word, without any attempt to resolve via objective evidence what ultimately appears to be a he-said, she-said conflict as to whether Favre took and sent intimate photos to Sterger while both were working for the Jets.
To the extent that some believe Sterger eventually will sue the Jets, possibly for ending her tenure after one year due in whole or in part to her alleged concerns regarding Favre, Reese gutted any such claim by making it clear that Sterger never said a word to the Jets about the situation for fear of losing her job.
“No, she did not complain to the organization,” Reese told Patrick, explaining that she instead confided in people in the industry.
From a legal standpoint, Reese essentially has placed Sterger in checkmate, without the NFL having to move barely any pawns. From a practical standpoint, this entire episode is assuming (in our opinion) a Tonya Harding vibe, and for reasons neither known nor apparent Reese now wants the league to take a metal stick to Brett Favre’s kneecap.
Regardless of what the league decides to do, we know that no amount of huffing and puffing from Sterger or her manager or her lawyer will persuade the NFL to do what Sterger or her manager or her lawyer want the NFL to do.