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BRETT FAVRE’S LAST SHOT
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Dave Zirin
September 24, 2024
Wisconsin Examiner
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_ There will be apologists for the game who will no doubt say that
one cannot “blame football” for Favre’s condition. They sound
like the tobacco company executives disavowing any connection between
smoking and lung cancer. _
,
In a moment that sent shockwaves through the sports world, Hall of
Fame quarterback – and Green Bay Packers legend – Brett
Favre revealed
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he was suffering from the neurological disease known as Parkinson’s.
In front of a U.S. congressional committee, Favre was testifying about
a business scandal that has dealt his reputation a major blow
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recent years. Favre had been the top investor in a drug company called
Prevacus. The shady firm was handed $2 million in welfare funds from
the state of Mississippi. In July, Prevacus’ founder Jacob
VanLandingham confessed to using this welfare money to pay his
gambling debts and pled guilty to wire fraud. Favre has been blamed
for also profiting from this theft, a charge he strongly denies.
Favre’s congressional testimony produced emotional whiplash as,
within his opening remarks about this grubby caper, he revealed his
shattering diagnosis. “Sadly, I also lost an investment in a company
that I believed was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I
thought would help others,” Favre said. “And I’m sure you’ll
understand why it’s too late for me, because I’ve recently been
diagnosed with Parkinson’s. This is also a cause dear to my
heart.”
The announcement, while tragic and shocking, was also not surprising.
Parkinson’s disease can be spurred by excessive blows to the head,
traumatic brain injuries, or repeated concussions. Perhaps the most
prominent sufferer of Parkinson’s was the boxer who late in his
career took punches like no other: Muhammad Ali. Favre played football
like the older Ali: repeatedly pummeled yet always coming back for
more. No one is close to Favre’s record 297 games started in a row.
That’s not just a number for quarterbacks: that’s all players. In
Favre’s time, unlike today, shots to the QB’s head or driving him
into the turf was legal and lauded. In a 2018 Today Show interview,
Favre says that while playing, he was diagnosed with “only” three
or four concussions but also commented
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“When you have ringing of the ears, seeing stars, that’s a
concussion. And if that is a concussion, I’ve had hundreds, maybe
thousands, throughout my career, which is frightening.”
There will be apologists for the game who will no doubt say that one
cannot “blame football” for Favre’s condition. They sound like
the tobacco company executives disavowing any connection between
smoking and lung cancer. In a wide-ranging survey produced by Boston
University
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the forefront institution on concussion research, people who suffered
traumatic brain injuries were 61% more likely to develop
Parkinson’s. That is staggering. The National Football League and
their feckless commissioner Roger Goodell would be wise to get in
front of this, to not play the role of clueless tobacco executive, and
speak to the league’s funding efforts to find new treatments. They
should articulate how they are trying to make the game safer. They
should take accountability for the fact that their sport can have
horrific outcomes.
This announcement could also mark an inflection point for Favre. For
even his most die-hard fans — and he has legions — it has been
exhausting to laud this person as any kind of athletic hero. He has,
under a bright public eye, displayed myriad flaws. There were the pill
addictions, the attempted infidelities, and now most shamefully,
accusations that Mississippi’s favorite son was stealing funds meant
for the state’s poorest residents. But Favre always kept a loyal
following from people – particularly in Wisconsin – who will
always appreciate how he laid it all on the line week after week with
a boyish, daredevil grin. They adore the player more than the man, but
when these categories inevitably spill over, they are fine with the
contradictions because he has their hearts: his flaws are just part of
what makes him human.
Now Favre gets to be the suffering saint of football: a great
quarterback brought down by the game he played like a little kid in
the backyard. He can be a receiver of sympathy instead of a source of
shame. Favre will undoubtedly be offered support from all corners. If
there is one thing we have learned about Parkinson’s, even with new
treatments being developed, he is truly going to need it.
_This commentary is published as a joint project of the Wisconsin
Examiner and The Progressive magazine._
_Dave Zirin writes about sports for The Nation and The Progressive and
hosts the Edge of Sports podcast and Edge of Sports with Dave Zirin on
The Real News. His most recent book is The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a
Knee, Changing the World._
_The Wisconsin Examiner is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site offering
a fresh perspective on politics and policy in our state. As the
largest news bureau covering state government in Madison, the Examiner
offers investigative reporting and daily coverage dedicated to the
public interest. We take our inspiration from the motto emblazoned on
a ceiling in our state Capitol: “The Will of the People Is the Law
of the Land.” The Examiner is part of States Newsroom
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nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations
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independence._
* football
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* concussions
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* Parkinson's
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