Back in 2001, the Green Bay Packers, led by now Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, traveled to face the New York Giants in the final week of the season. With three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Favre and the Packers had the ball. On a now controversial play, the Packers legend rolled to his right and slid to the ground in front of an unblocked Michael Strahan.
Strahan was credited with a sack, which gave him 22.5 for the season and the NFL record for most sacks in a year. It broke the record of 22.0 set by former New York Jets pass rusher Mark Gastineau, who confronted Favre in a now viral video clip from an upcoming documentary”
22 years after losing the NFL single-season sack record, Mark Gastineau confronted Brett Favre for ‘taking a dive’ on the record-breaking play.
Catch the latest @30for30, ‘The New York Sack Exchange,’ on ESPN and ESPN+ starting Dec. 13. pic.twitter.com/Oz5KRwVcy7
— ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2024
“I’m going to get my sack back. I’m going to get my sack back, dude,” Gastineau said to Favre.
In response, Favre said, “You’d probably hurt me.”
“Well I don’t care!” Gastineau snapped back. “You hurt me. You hurt me. You hear me? You really hurt me. You really hurt me, Brett.”
The documentary, entitled “The New York Sack Exchange,” will be available for streaming on ESPN+ on December 13.
Former Green Bay Packers Quarterback Brett Favre Responded to the Viral Clip
After the clip went viral, Favre took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to the allegation that he took a dive in order to give Strahan the record.
His statement read, in part:
“I want to clear the air on the footage released showing a small dustup between myself and Mark Gastineau, the former New York Jet.
“I booted out of a run thinking it would be wide open, saw Strahan standing there and ducked down. The game was over. There was no need for me to do anything spectacular. It probably wasn’t Michael’s best sack or tackle for loss.
“In a different game or situation, I would have made a bigger effort to avoid the sack or TFL. But at no point was I thinking about hurting Gastineau. Maybe it crossed my mind to help Strahan. I didn’t think it through. That wasn’t my forte at the time. I just wanted to have fun and compete. In retrospect, I understand how Gastineau feels. We played a brutal game. Gastineau played during an era where guys didn’t make generational wealth.
“I have a great deal of respect for Mark. I hope one day he joins me in the Hall of Fame. He earned it. Look at his numbers. He eclipsed 20 sacks twice and had 19 in another year!
“Mark definitely left an indelible mark on the game. I hope this controversy brings attention to just how great Mark Gastineau was. He belongs in Canton.”
NFL Legend Terrell Owens, and Others, Called Out Brett Favre for the Mississippi Welfare Scandal
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More recently, Favre has been linked to the Mississippi Welfare Scandal. Allegations accuse the Packers legend of defrauding the people of Mississippi from welfare funds in an effort to build a volleyball stadium at his daughter’s university.
He has not been indicted nor convicted of any crimes in relation to the scandal.
But that did not stop NFL legend Terrell Owens and others from asking about it in response to his post on social media:
While you’re clearing the air, clear the air on the misappropriation of funds you were pocketing https://t.co/u4V2a88Yz6
— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) December 11, 2024
THIS is what you want to clear the air about? https://t.co/BOJEcCuPgw
— Randy Scott (@RandyScottESPN) December 11, 2024
Bro apologized for taking a dive to Strahan before he apologized for stealing $700,000 in welfare money https://t.co/DQemkGOAPE
— Eric Nathan (@BarstoolNate) December 11, 2024
Maybe if we send Mark Gastineau to confront him about stealing all that money from the poor, he’d finally apologize for that too. https://t.co/yOC8fxsDF0
— 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 🧀 (@Wisco_GBP) December 11, 2024
The crazy thing about this mark gastineau story is that you stole millions of dollars from welfare recipients. https://t.co/u33P9frum2
— Mikewichter (@mikewichter) December 11, 2024
It is worth noting that the statute of limitations on whatever crimes Favre is alleged to have committed either has run out or will run out in a matter of weeks.
If the state of Mississippi had a real case against Favre, charges would have been filed by now.
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