Author Jeff Pearlman doesn’t want you to read his biography of Brett Favre—really.
Pearlman, a sportswriter and author of several books about football and basketball (Football for a Buck, Three-Ring Circus), went on Twitter to comment on a recent controversy involving the former Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Favre’s company is alleged to have received more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Department of Human Services for speaking appearances that never happened, and Favre reportedly lobbied the state’s then-governor, Phil Bryant, to use state money to build a sports facility at the quarterback’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi.
The money in question was meant to help needy families pay for food, clothing, and shelter.
On Twitter, Pearlman, author of the 2016 Favre biography Gunslinger, wrote that his book about the athlete was “fairly positive.”
On the day of extended Favre revelations, I wanna share something: I wrote a biography of the man that was largely glowing. Football heroics, overcoming obstacles, practical joker, etc. Yes, it included his grossness, addictions, treatment of women. But it was fairly positive [1] pic.twitter.com/m1rJJ2sChf
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) September 13, 2022
“And, looking at it now, if I’m being brutally honest—I’d advise people not to read it,” Pearlman wrote. “He’s a bad guy. He doesn’t deserve the icon treatment. He doesn't deserve acclaim. Image rehabilitation. Warm stories of grid glory.”
Pearlman also noted Favre’s treatment of Jenn Sterger, a sideline reporter for the New York Jets to whom Favre reportedly sent suggestive text and voice messages.
“And now—taking money that was designated to help poor people in HIS STATE, and funneling it to build (checks notes) A FUCKING VOLLEYBALL ARENA (!?!?!?) is so grotesque, so monstrous. I don’t know how someone like that looks in the mirror. I just don’t,” Pearlman wrote. “So, sincerely, don’t buy the book, don’t take it out from the library. Leave it. There are sooooo many better people worthy of your reading hours. Of your time. I prefer crumbs like Brett Favre shuffle off into the abyss, shamed by greed and selfishness.”
Pearlman’s last tweet in the thread was accompanied by a picture of a Brett Favre Packers jersey on fire.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
