Brett Favre on Tuesday addressed a contentious moment he had with former New York Jets legend Mark Gastineau in 2023.
On Tuesday, ESPN posted a snippet on X that showed Gastineau confronting Favre at a Chicago memorabilia convention last year. During the exchange, Gastineau accused Favre of taking a dive during the latter’s final game of the 2001 NFL season. Gastineau said that he was hurt by the moment.
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
Favre was famously on the receiving end of the final sack that gave New York Giants icon Michael Strahan the all-time sacks record (22.5) in a single season. The sack pushed Strahan past Gastineau with just a few minutes left in a regular season finale that Favre’s Green Bay Packers already had wrapped up.
The clip went viral enough on social media that Favre felt the need to address it. The three-time MVP posted an eight-part thread on X sharing his side of the story.
In the thread, Favre cleared up that he was “in no way trying to hurt Mark Gastineau.” Favre added that given the game situation, he did not feel the need to make “a bigger effort to avoid the sack.”
Favre did admit that he may have subconsciously been trying to help Strahan. But he also stated that there was never any malice against Gastineau. Favre said that he now understands the financial impact that the play had on Gastineau and laments that the footage was ever released.
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…
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) December 11, 2024
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.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Brett.
— Brett Favre (@BrettFavre) December 11, 2024
ESPN posted the clip to tease a “30 for 30” documentary titled “The New York Sack Exchange” to be released later this week. The documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the Jets’ famous “Sack Exchange,” a vaunted four-man defensive line in the 1980s that included Gastineau.
