In a disclosure that meshes with the allegations made privately to the NFL, former Jets in-house sideline reporter Jenn Sterger has told ABC’s Good Morning America that a Jets employee approached her in 2008 and “tried to play matchmaker” not long after Favre joined the team, according to Michael McCarthy of USA Today.
“I was approached one day at the beginning of the preseason games, by a man wearing a Jets badge, employee badge, who asked me, ‘How would you feel if Brett Favre asked for your phone number? What would you say?,” Sterger told George Stephanopoulos in an interview that will air Tuesday and Wednesday morning. “And I just looked at him, my usual smartass self. And I said, ‘I’d say I like my job an awful lot. And I’ve been told I look remarkably like his wife.’”
She claims she didn’t disclose her number, and that she thought “that was the end of it.”
Sterger also explained that she wants to make it clear that she’s not a “gold digger.”
“I haven’t made a dime off anything in this whole situation,” Sterger said. “Not from the pictures. Not from Favre. I never wanted to sue anyone. That was never an intention of mine.”
It apparently was an intention of those working for her. Lawyer Joseph Conway said after being hired in October that he was “retained to advise her and pursue any potential remedies she might have.”
Hopefully, Sterger will explain exactly what her motivation was. She initially was reluctant to go on the record when the story first arose (indeed, it’s still unclear whether she actually authorized Deadspin to run with the story in August 2010). If there was no financial angle, why did she keep photos texted to her by Favre and voice messages he had sent in 2008? And something prompted her to speak with the NFL last year, after initially showing reluctance.
If her current goal is to show that she’s not a “gold digger,” it’s important to understand exactly what sparked a seemingly haphazard course of events. The truth could simply be that she was being pushed and pulled by those around her to try to cash in, and that she ultimately decided not to do so.
Either way, here’s hoping that the interview yields clarity and closure. Based on the excerpts provided to USA Today, it sounds like we’ll be hearing stuff that we already knew.