Imagine a sex scandal that featured neither sex nor scandal. Would it still be a sex scandal?
In reality, of course not — but in the real world, if one of the participants happens to be Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre, the story would have stronger legs than a scandal involving a private, married citizen snorting cocaine off a stripper’s breasts.
So Favre is being pummelled for doing something sexually scandalous, even if it wasn’t a sex scandal per se.
Is it fair, is it just? Only if you make the tortured argument that he deserves it for picking a life in the public spotlight.
Here’s what we know. When with the New York Jets, Favre persistently tried to communicate — probably in the pursuit of ultimately doing something else — with game day hostess Jenn Sterger. He sent her MySpace messages and used an intermediary to exchange phone numbers. He wound up leaving her a series of voicemails.
Many of the goods have been publicly posted by deadspin.com, and going through them — screenshots of MySpace messages and recordings of voicemails — it’s hard to get past the idea that this resembles an obsessed sixteen-year-old backup receiver going after a just-turned-fifteen cheerleader than an actual sex scandal. Really, Brett?
If athletes trying to solicit extra-marital sexual relations were a sport, Tiger Woods would have to take it easy on Brett for the sake of sportsmanship. Tiger sure never had to send MySpace messages or get PR people to slip phone numbers.
So really, where is the scandal here? Other than Favre’s fame, of course, what is the story?
Sure, if you really think about it, the whole situation is a bit creepy. MySpace messages, voicemails inviting her to the hotel — not really “normal” courtship.
Then again, if Brett did want to have an extra-marital affair (he’s been married to Deanna Tynes since 1996), it’s not like he could have just taken her out to a nice restaurant like, well, nearly anyone else that isn’t world famous could have done.
Maybe Sterger felt uneasy at the attention. However, men make women feel uncomfortable every day: at bars, on the bus, and online. Why is Favre taking the heat?
It’s just an observation that nothing that happened here is any more scandalous — in fact, everything about it appears to be far less scandalous — than any number of everyday events.
