Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 204 of 1503)

Two women suing Brett Favre for sexual harassment

According to ABC News, two women are suing Brett Favre for sexual harassment after he made “lewd passes” at them while they were massage therapists for the Jets.

Christina Scavo and Shannon O’Toole, both former massage therapists for the New York Jets, filed suit against Favre, the New York Jets and Lisa Ripi, a woman who hires massage therapists for the team, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York today.

In the suit, Scavo alleges that Favre sent text messages to another unidentified massage therapist, asking Scavo and the unidentified woman to “get together” with Favre.

Scavo said that in 2008 while Favre was with the New York Jets, he treated her like a “hanging slab of meat.” In the suit she claims he wanted a three-way with her and another therapist.

Favre allegedly texted the unidentified therapist, writing, “Brett here, you and Crissy want to get together, I’m all alone,” according to the lawsuit.

Favre allegedly sent another text message reading, “Kinda lonely tonight, I guess I have
bad intentions.”

Scavo claimed that after she refused Favre’s advances and had her husband, Joseph Scavo, call Favre to demand an apology, both Scavo and the other plaintiff, Shannon O’Toole, were never offered work with the Jets again.

Scavo’s husband said he confronted the quarterback to stop soliciting his wife and asked for an apology, but Favre “responded in an inappropriate manner and refused,” according to the lawsuit.

This is what Jenn Sterger should have done if she was serious about wanting Favre to be punished for “harassing” her: file a lawsuit and let the courts deal with it. Instead, Sterger and her overpaid lawyer demanded that the NFL punish Favre and then stated how disappointed they were that the league only fined him. Get real.

When these women first made headlines with their Favre story, some people thought they were just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame and follow in Sterger’s footsteps. But this suit proves that they mean business.

Favre won’t be able to duck the court system like he did with the NFL when it came to the Sterger investigation. The Supreme Court isn’t going to fine him $50,000 for lack of cooperation and send him on his way. They’re going to come after him hard.

This just proves that our pasts will come back to haunt as at some point.

Marvin Lewis out as Bengals’ head coach?

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (85) talks with head coach Marvin Lewis during the second quarter of their game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on November 14, 2010. UPI /Mark Cowan

“Black Monday” in the NFL got started with a bang when the Browns fired Eric Mangini, but the news wire has been awfully quiet since then.

Until now, at least.

A team source tells Yahoo! Sports that Marvin Lewis will not return to the Bengals next season, even if he’s asked back. The NFL Network also reported the same thing earlier this morning, so it appears as though the story has legs.

ESPN’s Joe Schad reports that Lewis is very interested in the opening at the University of Pittsburgh and he may try the college ranks for a few years. The Pitt job recently became available when Mike Haywood decided to strike the mother of one of his children.

No matter where Lewis winds up, it was time for him to get out of Cincinnati. He’s had three losing seasons in the last four years and word has it that he’s become frustrated with the way owner Mike Brown runs things. It’s well known that the Bengals have one of the smallest scouting staffs in the league and while that may work for a team like the Cowboys, it hasn’t worked for Cincinnati.

Before Lewis arrived in the “Natti,” he was a heck of a defensive coordinator for the Ravens and Redskins. If he wanted to return to that roll someplace else, he would have no shortage of opportunities (the Texans just fired their DC on Monday). That said, whether it comes from the pros or the college ranks, he should receive another offer to become a head coach. One NFL team that may be interested in his services is the 49ers. (Although they appear to be set on hiring an offensive-minded coach after the debacles that were Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary.)

There needs to be less talk, more action in the NFL CBA discussions

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to the league’s fans on Monday, assuring them that the owners and players will be able to come to an agreement on a new CBA deal by next season.

This is what he said in his letter (via ESPN.com):

“I know we can and will reach an agreement,” Goodell wrote. “My goal as commissioner now is to help our teams and players find a solution that is fair to everyone and ensures that football becomes more popular, accessible, and fun. We want the next decade to be the best yet for our fans, and I’m ready to work day and night to make that happen.”

What Goodell wrote is all well and good but fans don’t need a letter, they need a football season next year. There seems to be a lot of talk coming from Goodell about how a deal can be worked out, yet it’s January and a new CBA contract is still not in place.

As the situation currently stands, there will be a lockout later this year. That’s the only thing that matters right now. And until the owners and the NFLPA can come to an agreement, the only football that fans will be able to enjoy is the 11 games that remain in the current season.

I’m still of the mindset that the two sides will agree to a new deal and there will be football again next year. But it would be nice to see a little less talk out of guys like Goodell and more action.

Edsall leaves UConn in a bad situation, becomes Maryland’s next head coach

Some Connecticut fans will criticize Randy Edsall for leaving the program to become the next head coach at Maryland. But that’s not fair. Edsall must have believed he went as far as he could go at UConn and Maryland offers him a new challenge and a different opportunity.

Ask yourself this before you criticize his decision: If you were given the same opportunity in your career, would you make a move as well? People often point out that loyalty doesn’t exist anymore in sports and while that’s true, times have changed. Even in a down economy, there’s more money to be earned and now more than ever, you don’t move up the corporate ladder by staying in one spot.

That said, I think it’s open season on Edsall for how he left Connecticut.

If the reports are true and he gave almost no indication to anyone at UConn that he was leaving the program, then ditched his team to hop a plane to Maryland after the Fiesta Bowl, then I don’t blame anyone associated with UConn for being a little salty right now. Fans will forever be grateful for what Edsall did for the Huskie program (and not just for what he accomplished this season), but they won’t soon forget how he ditched them for a bigger conference but not necessarily a better team. (Nobody would have blamed Edsall for going to the SEC to coach someone like Kentucky. But Maryland? Come on.)

The timing of Edsall’s departure makes sense for him. His stock will never be higher than it is right now after leading the Huskies to a BCS bowl and if he didn’t want to coach at UConn for the next 10 years, now was the time to leave.

But he certainly didn’t do the Huskies any favors on the way out. They just lost by four touchdowns on national TV and if Edsall didn’t inform AD Jeff Hathaway that he was leaving until he signed the dotted line at Maryland, then it’s not like Hathaway is prepared to find his replacement quickly. It’s a bad deal all the way around for Hathaway.

Selfish is probably too strong a word to use here, but Edsall definitely didn’t have UConn’s best interests in mind when he hopped a plane to College Park following the loss to Oklahoma. And if he never parlays the Maryland gig into a bigger job, then I wonder if he’ll regret ever leaving the friendly confines of East Hartford.

Browns fire Mangini – will Holmgren target Fox to replace him?

Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini watches second quarter action against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October17, 2010. UPI/Archie Carpenter

“Black Monday” just seized its first victim.

Following the team’s 5-11 season, the Browns have decided to fire coach Eric Mangini, who had two years remaining on his contract. When the Browns hired him in December of last year, Mike Holmgren retained Mangini hoping that the success the Browns had at the end of 2010 would carry over into 2011. But Cleveland sputtered again under Mangini’s guidance.

There’s speculation that Holmgren will return to the sidelines next season to coach the Browns, but ESPN’s Chris Mortensen believes that he’ll remain the team’s President. If Holmgren does become the Browns’ next coach, he’ll install the West Coast-style offense that guided the Packers to two Super Bowls and the Seahawks to one.

If he doesn’t return to the sidelines, there are rumors circulating that John Fox is at the top of Holmgren’s wish list. Fox was informed last week that the Panthers, whom he spent nine years with from 2002-2010, would not renew his contract. He compiled a 73-71 record in Carolina, going 5-3 in the playoffs and reaching the Super Bowl in 2003.

There are many fans and media members that like Fox and believe he can succeed now that he’s out of Jerry Richardson’s claws. But I’m not one of them.

As I’ve written many times before on this blog, the Panthers were the models of inconsistency under Fox throughout his tenure. Not once did the team finish with back-to-back winning records and while Fox is highly regarded as a coach who gets the most out of his players, he seemed to be lacking in the Xs and Os department. His decision-making was questionable at best, most notably in his loyalty to Jake Delhomme (who was finished years ago but still manages to trick teams into giving him money) and his desire to see receiver Steve Smith get away with everything. Fox is also known for his defenses, but Carolina’s secondary was seemingly an issue every year. (That’s not all on him of course, but he takes a lot of the blame.)

If Holmgren doesn’t want to coach, he should handpick someone young and energetic. The Browns are a young themselves and they’re only going to get younger as Holmgren builds through the draft. Fox wouldn’t be an Eric Mangini-like disaster but maybe Cleveland would be better served not going the retread route.

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