Brett Favre should be fired. OK, I'm assuming that he is guilty of sending sleazy voicemails and pictures of his...Favrehood to Jenn Sterger while employed with the New York Jets. Do I care as a fan what he does outside of his marriage vows? Sure, because I am a fan of Brett Favre the quarterback. I lived in Wisconsin during the Favre years, and I still believe I was witness to one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. I watched a number of games at Lambeau over the years (usually to watch the Packers beat my Lions), and I can tell you first hand that it was a thrill to watch him play. I don't want to think of Brett Favre as another Tiger Woods, cheating on his wife because he can. At some point, you pick an athlete to follow, and he is one that I have always appreciated. You start to identify with your favorite athlete, dreaming about being the one in the huddle calling that last second pass play to beat the Lions in the playoffs at the Silverdome (no I haven't forgotten!) I still have a Favre Packer jersey that I wear all the time. I loved cheering for #4. Do I know Brett Favre as a person or employee? No, of course not. However, if he were my employee and I had evidence that he did the things that he is accused of doing while working at my company, I would fire him.
From an HR perspective, he was an employee of the New York Jets when the alleged improprieties occurred, a team (company) from which he is obviously no longer employed. He now works for another company, the Minnesota Vikings, who probably didn't do a background check of his previous employers. Even if they did, they obviously felt that his ability to throw a touchdown pass superseded his sometimes maddening inability (ineffectiveness) to make timely and accurate decisions that has been witnessed throughout his career. Whatever their decision, the Vikings hired Brett Favre, so his previous employer (Jets) don't have to deal with him as an employee. Unless he lied on his "application" to the Vikings, he is now their employee to deal with, and there has been no evidence that he has sent his Favrehood across the ethernet on company time, equipment or as a representative of the Vikings. If the Jets can actually show that his behavior was one of the reasons that he was not re-signed by them a few years back, it probably helps their locker room case that made headlines earlier this year (assuming it's documented!).
Did he help create a hostile work environment for certain reporters while employed by the Jets? Sounds that way, though I'm not sure who has actually claimed a hostile work environment at this point other than media outlets. Aside from possible civil suits, the Jets (previous employer) probably can't do anything to Favre. The Vikings, on the other hand, may have put something into his contract about public persona, conduct detrimental to the organization, etc. In that case, having an employee whose past actions while employed on another NFL team hurt the reputation of the current team (employer) might give the Vikings ground for dismissal. I'm sure the NFLPA would have a heyday with that comment, but as an employer whose very livelihood depends on fans who believe in their product, allowing Brett Favre to remain the face of your organization seems like a risky short and long-term gamble if the situation isn't handled swiftly and fairly by the Vikings.
Like all investigations, all allegations should be investigated and facts verified. Normally, these types of investigations should always remain extremely confidential, though it seems like impossibility for this to occur with pro athletes. Most cases stem on he said/she said scenarios, and the truth seems to always fall somewhere in the middle, though it seems that Ms. Sterger has evidence of Favre's inappropriate behavior. Disciplinary measures should be fair and should match the level of improper behavior or conduct, though how to measure the impact of Favre's behavior on his current employer is problematic at best. However, HR professionals in most companies in the United States would most certainly fire an employee for sending sexually graphic pictures of his/herself to another employee if the other employee claimed that he/she was exposed to a hostile work environment because of the offending employee's behavior.
It's going to be hard for Favre to get through this if he is proven guilty of these actions, but probably harder on his wife and children. He has already left the Jets, so all this does is lend credence to the claim that the Jets let this type of behavior occur as the employer. The Jets are on the hook there. The Vikings need to peruse the contract that Favre signed with them as their employee, and make the appropriate decision on his employment status. The risk for the Vikings as an employer is that now they know about this behavior. If he were to exhibit this type of behavior again as an employer of the Vikings...watch out. As for Favre, if the allegations made against him turn out to be true, then he has lost a fan. If he were my employee and all of the allegations prove to be true, he would lose his job.
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