Legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre said he wants athletes and leagues to keep politics out of sporting events.
“I think both sides, for the most part, want to see it just remain about the sport, not about politics,” Favre said during an interview this week. “At least, that’s my interpretation. I know when I turn on a game, I want to watch the game. I want to watch players play and teams win, lose, come from behind. I want to watch all the, you know, important parts of the game, not what’s going on outside of the game. And I think the general fan feels the same way.”
Favre, who played most of his Hall of Fame career for the Green Bay Packers, started his time in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, whose city just lost Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game after Georgia’s Republican-controlled government passed a new election security law that critics have likened to the Jim Crow era.
But Favre said he believes sports are better as a unifying force, something that can bring people of all races together.
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“I can’t tell you how many people, including yourself, have said to me, ‘I don’t watch anymore. It’s not about the game anymore.’ And I tend to agree. Again, it’s a shame,” Favre said, noting that he believes the widespread protests of the national anthem have “created more turmoil than good.”
“There’s always been differences. There’s always been issues within the world, within the country, within our states. But again, something has to unify us,” Favre said. “And I felt like the flag, standing patriotically — because blacks and whites and Hispanics have fought for this country and died for this country. It’s too bad.”
When asked if he perceived there to be any racial tension during his playing days, Favre said he believed football brought people from all walks of life together.
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“Absolutely not,” Favre said. “In fact, that was sort of our protected space, if you will, where we could kind of let our guard down. We were in something together. We fought together. We won together. We lost together. And we truly were a family. So yeah, to answer your question, we absolutely didn’t have issues.”
