R-e-g-r-e-t-s. Jenn Sterger’s last name spelled backward comes out like that.
Brett Favre’s name doesn’t spell hero as easily these days. We’ve known for awhile there were a couple of heroes in the Favre household, but as of late Deanna Favre has been deserving of more applause than her famous husband.
Sterger’s allegations that Favre sent her inappropriate messages and photos when both were employed by the New York Jets has triggered coverage on gossip and sports pages this month. Favre has admitted to the messages but not the photos, according to Fox Sports.
The situation has put a focus not only on the Vikings quarterback but his household this football season. Wife Deanna has been mostly silent but said on national TV she’s relying on her faith during the latest ordeal with her husband.
She is a devout Christian and relies on prayer and friends when problems arise. “When I need prayer, I’ve got a team of prayer warriors,” she writes in her 2007 book Don’t Bet Against Me.
Through the years Deanna’s faith has been tested not only by her husband, but by breast cancer. In the book she recounted Favre’s partying, struggles with alcohol and the pain killer Vicodin.
Deanna wrote in her autobiography: “One night I walked into a room and heard Brett talking on the phone to a woman I had discovered he’d been calling. ‘That’s it,’ I told him. ‘I don’t deserve to be treated like this.’ ”
That was back in Green Bay during the mid-1990’s when Favre and Deanna were in a long term relationship but not married. It was also a time when Favre was struggling with Vicodin and also drinking too much. “The Brett I knew was quiet, this Brett was a party boy who stayed out all night with his friends,” Deanna wrote in the book.
In 2004 Deanna was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is not only a breast cancer survivor but a dedicated spokesperson about the disease. She is the founder of the Deanna Favre HOPE Foundation. As one of the nation’s leading activists in speaking about the disease, she appeared recently on Good Morning America as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Deanna has faced down adversity not only with cancer and in her marriage but also with family deaths. Her brother Casey was killed in an accident on almost the same date she was diagnosed with cancer. A year before she helped Brett manage the death of his father.
The Sterger episode is the latest chapter in adversity. No matter how the Favres resolve it, don’t bet against Deanna emerging as a hero.