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Ξ October 26th, 2008 | → | ∇ Uncategorized |

Brett Favre: The ‘If I Did It’ Defense

The following is a review of Brat Out-of-Favour’s 2020 book, “If I Did It: Betrayal of the Green Bay Packers.”

The ghost writer for this book, Greta Van Susteren, makes sure in the beginning we understand that none of what is written is a confession on the part of Brat, the former Packers quarterback whose name was legally changed thanks to a massive lawsuit by highly motivated fans of the team.

“It is a hypothetical,” says the former Fox News reporter and self-described friend of Brat Out-of-Favour; her father was also a close friend of Joe McCarthy as she was growing up in Appleton, WI. “That’s why it’s titled “If I Did It…”

Her former network was going to air an interview with Brat, to whom they had given an advance on book and movie rights, until public outcry compelled them to cancel the interview. A judge ruled that publishing rights be turned over to Packers shareholders, of which Van Susteren belonged until she was forced to sell back to the team because shareholders voted that she was continually acting “against the best interests of the organization” in her agenda to support Brat at every turn.The book is well-written, but offers little revelatory information. It was based on his premise in Brat’s first press conference after the report, in which he claimed to be innocent but went into detail about how what the Packers did to succeed against Detroit was no secret, it’s not against the rules and “happens more than you know.”

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He also later vowed to start the search for the real treasonists.

Among the assertions used to justify the action that Brat then insists never took place, Brat cites in particular the team’s sudden departure, after coach Mike Sherman left, from the philosophy that his needs would be put ahead of the team’s. He said that made it obvious to him he was unwanted by management.

The following is a partial list of examples of the policy shift:

With regard to the last point, reports came out one by one when opposing front-office staff and coaches retired that Out-of-Favour had also fed those teams information. When the finally-retired star was cornered about this in 2011, he said, “If I did it, it was to prove the Packers wrong about saying I wanted to stick it to them.”

He later pointed out, “It’s not like my information helped anyone—if I had provided it, I mean!”

That much is indisputable: the Packers struggled defensively that year and only won nine games, but Aaron Rodgers made the Pro Bowl by passing for 4018 yards, 30 TDs (plus running for six more), and only nine interceptions. (Brat had 13-plus interceptions in every season of his career except for the one in which he attempted only four passes; in that season he threw two interceptions.)

Nevertheless, the book outlines how the selling of secrets would have happened if it had taken place.

“I called Matt Millen to say we should talk before his Lions played the Packers, but I got voicemail,” Out-of-Favour said. “So I told him to call me back, and that’s why I was able to say he called me, I mean, if he had—wait, I can admit that—yeah, so that’s why I said he called me.”

Van Susteren was asked why she didn’t edit that out, and said she was misquoted. People who worked with her claim it is further proof of her incompetence as a reporter, an assertion she vehemently denies.

Out-of-Favour goes on: “And he said he would take me hunting if I told him something, so I talked about the game plan to spread them out and attack their secondary because we always knew they only had playmakers at the receiver position. I asked Matt why he didn’t know this, and then was like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s really bad at his job.’

“Matt said he needed to know more because he said his job was finally on the line, and offered me a free hunting trip for it. So I started telling him about audible terminology, route combinations, etc. I should have known he wouldn’t be able to take advantage of it.

“And then it was similar with the other teams, but most of them didn’t call me back when they could see it wasn’t working. If I had told them anything, that is.”

The last chapter is a plea from Brat to be allowed into