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Business & Tech

Mineola Law Firm Outraged by Favre's NFL Fine

Attorneys call fine an "affront to all females."

The Mineola law firm of was this week after the National Football League went soft on former New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre.

The NFL, which under Commissioner Roger Goodell has gained a reputation for coming down hard on player transgressions, fined Favre $50,000 for failing to cooperate in a months-long investigation that alleged Favre sent inappropriate texts and lewd photos to former Jets game-day host Jenn Sterger in 2008.

The NFL declared that Favre did not violate the league's personal conduct policy, a decision that Mineola attorney Joseph Conway called "an affront to all females and shows once again that, despite tough talk, the NFL remains the good old boys' league."

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Conway said in a statement that "my client and I are extremely disappointed, but not surprised, at the NFL announcement that Brett Favre did not violate the NFL 'workplace conduct' policy. While I am not privy to how [Commissioner] Goodell reached such a finding, we strongly disagree with his conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to support a violation of the policy."

Conway said his firm's evidence and the personal testimony of Sterger "clearly showed a pattern of lewd and offensive behavior by Mr. Favre that lasted all of the 2008 season."

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In a release, the NFL reported there was no evidence to suggest that Sterger engaged in any inappropriate conduct.

Conway argues that in addition to the offensive messages, there was ample evidence to show that the sexually explicit photographs were part of Favre's inappropriate behavior. "Our evidence clearly showed that the photos were sent by Favre," he said. "Likewise, Mr. Goodell completely failed to address the complicity of the New York Jet organization in Favre's conduct. The evidence was explicit that Ms. Sterger's personal telephone numbers were provided to Favre by still-current employees of the New York Jets. This was done without Ms. Sterger's knowledge and consent."

In Conway's estimation, the fact the NFL fined Favre for "not being candid in several respects during the investigation" is disturbing in the message it sends. "It clearly shows that an NFL star player was given preferential treatment and tells all other players that failure to cooperate may cost you some money but will not result in other punishment," he said.

The NFL said its forensic analysis could not definitively establish that Favre sent the objectionable pictures to Sterger, adding that the case dragged out because of what it described as complications in setting up interviews with "certain key individuals," retrieving and reviewing electronic records and Goodell's decision to speak with Favre and Sterger before making his decision.

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