Irvin Calls out Favre

[jksmith269]

I really like it when MI calls out players like this he is a no holds barred person and IMO great for ESPN....

Posted Sep. 16, 2005


Favre should apologize to Walker, says Irvin
Javon Walker

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On Wednesday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre said he didn’t regret criticizing teammate Javon Walker for threatening to hold out.

Walker didn’t hold out, he arrived on time for training camp and never said a disparaging word about Favre, the franchise or anyone.

In the season opener, Walker tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is out for the season.

On Thursday, former Dallas Cowboys receiver and ESPN NFL analyst Michael Irvin said Favre owes Walker an apology.

“Now this is a story here,” Irvin told the Palm Beach Post. “(Walker) came back into camp because of Brett Favre. The great Brett Favre. This is not some rookie calling him out when he was asking for his money, this is the great Brett Favre.”

Irvin said Favre had no right to call Walker out publicly, thus eliminating any leverage Walker may have had with management.

“I love Brett, I appreciate Brett. But Brett should know business is business,” Irvin said, “You don’t mess with another man’s business.

“Now, what do you do, Brett? If I’m Brett, how you can walk in the room (of a guy who) just had surgery, to say, ‘Hey, man, I’m sorry this has happened?’ How could you do it? How could you look that man in his eyes? Nobody said anything about that. I had a problem with it.”

Walker had a breakthrough season in 2004, when he had 89 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Walker will make $515,000 this season and will make $650,000 next season. Favre makes more than $10 million a year.

On Wednesday, Favre said he was sorry that Walker would miss the rest of the season but said he didn’t regret calling him out publicly. Favre was unable to be reached Thursday to respond to Irvin’s comments.

“You know, I feel terrible about what happened because it doesn’t help our team any. He’s young, and I’ve seen so many young players do that, have a type of injury that will cause them to miss the rest of the season. It’s hard for him to believe it right now, but I promise you, he’ll come back better,” Favre said. “He’s obviously young enough that age is not a factor. And his contract situation will take care of itself. I still think he’ll make a lot of money.”

That will depend on what happens next season. If Walker is able to come back and play the same way he did during the 2004 season, he could get a substantial payday when he becomes a free agent after the 2006 season. But if Walker isn’t as effective as he was before the injury, the Packers will be on the hook for only his 2006 salary.

“You think Green Bay is going to step up and say, ‘Listen, let’s make this right?’ “ Irvin said. “They're not going to do it.”

That’s why Irvin had such a problem with Favre’s comments about Walker. He said it was an example of a player siding with management over one of his teammates.

“Brett called out Javon Walker. I say, ‘Why didn’t Brett call out Ted Thompson, the GM over at Green Bay?’ “ Irvin said. “If he comes out on the air and says, ‘Hey, Ted and Javon, you guys get your butts together, man, because we need Javon in here, and let’s get ready to play some football.’ Then I say, ‘Man, that man cares about the football team.’ But when you just call out Javon, not the organization, I say, ‘Well, maybe it’s not the team, maybe it’s the organization you care about.”

Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton.

 

[TheHustler]

Yeah, this really sucks for Walker. He could have gotten top WR money, 10-15 million gaurenteed, now, who knows what will happen with his career.

 

[SupermanXx]

“Brett called out Javon Walker. I say, ‘Why didn’t Brett call out Ted Thompson, the GM over at Green Bay?’ “ Irvin said. “If he comes out on the air and says, ‘Hey, Ted and Javon, you guys get your butts together, man, because we need Javon in here, and let’s get ready to play some football.’ Then I say, ‘Man, that man cares about the football team.’ But when you just call out Javon, not the organization, I say, ‘Well, maybe it’s not the team, maybe it’s the organization you care about.”

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Brett shouldn't have called him out. But Walker's injury does nothing to shed light on the wrongness of what Brett did. The mistake Brett made was not handling things in-house. As far as the content of his message: I see nothing wrong with it. Walker was under contract. He belonged in camp and on the field. And, truth be told, he would have been on the field last Sunday regardless of what Brett did or didn't say (just like T.O. and countless other holdouts, he'd have made sure his bargaining position wasn't cutting into his weekly pay cheques).

 

[jman]

As far as I'm concerned, Favre did the right thing. I'm sorry that Walker got injured, but unfortunatly, those are the breaks.

If Terry Glenn had a great season last year and the Cowboys gave him a big raise and then had a season ending injury in the first game, everyone on the board would be gripping about the wasted salary cap space for an injured player and how inept the Cowboys were for giving him the big contract.

Anyways, I hope that Walker comes back and has a great 2006 season.

 

[dargonking999]

I think favre messed up uy coming out publicy adn calling out the player, he should have been this great man, called in walker called in the GM and got those two to get something agreed so he can get his player back, not publicy come out and talk about your number one WR, and this injury did was show that walker was right.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

and this injury did was show that walker was right.

How? From my vantage point, all it showed is that Walker had an interest in holding out (as opposed to a right to do so).

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

How? From my vantage point, all it showed is that Walker had an interest in holding out (as opposed to a right to do so).

No, I think you gotta look deeper here. Walker has been trying to get a deal done since before last season. Walker's agent acutally approached the team before last season to discuss long term contract. The team promised walker that it would be addressed in the off season, contingent upon his performance and his willingness to do the right thing. Walker stipulated and responded with a great season. Walker again asked for a long term deal, based on discussion had previously, and was told that nothing would happen. Walker deserved a new contract. After this season, he would be an FA. That would certainly give him leverage so, it is very possable that the team would have been forced to write a new contract for him in order to avoid lossing him. Now, his ability to go to another team and get a big contract is pretty much gone. He has no leverage with the club.

I think Favre was wrong. The contract discussions between Walker and Green Bay, no matter what you think of it, was between Walker and Green Bay. Favre had no business getting publically involved IMO.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

No, I think you gotta look deeper here. Walker has been trying to get a deal done since before last season. Walker's agent acutally approached the team before last season to discuss long term contract. The team promised walker that it would be addressed in the off season, contingent upon his performance and his willingness to do the right thing. Walker stipulated and responded with a great season. Walker again asked for a long term deal, based on discussion had previously, and was told that nothing would happen. Walker deserved a new contract. After this season, he would be an FA. That would certainly give him leverage so, it is very possable that the team would have been forced to write a new contract for him in order to avoid lossing him. Now, his ability to go to another team and get a big contract is pretty much gone. He has no leverage with the club.

I think Favre was wrong. The contract discussions between Walker and Green Bay, no matter what you think of it, was between Walker and Green Bay. Favre had no business getting publically involved IMO.

We agree that Favre was wrong. As for the rest of your post, I wasn't aware of the history and that GB management had promised a redo prior to last season, pending his performance. That certainly changes things somewhat. Whether it put Walker in the right, I'm not yet sure.

 

[Doomsday101]

Brett should know you never get between a dog and his bone. I do agree with Mike in that Walkers contract had nothing to do with Brett thus Brett needed to stay out of it.

 

[alpha]

I have two questions for Brett;

1) Can you look Javon in the eyes and genuinely tell him you do not regret your public comments earlier this year? If so, that's some cold hearted ish, IMHO.

2) Would you feel differently if this had been a career threatening/ending injury, as opposed to season ending? If so, that would make you a hypocrite since there are no garantees when it comes to a pro athletes health, especially in this sport.

Brett knows Javon's pay was not equitable nor commensurate with his production and ability. It's easy to sit back and self-righteously say, "His contract situation will take care of itself" when you're making $10+ million per and already set for life.

 

[Nav22]

I said it before, and I'll gladly say it again. Favre calling Walker out PUBLICLY = punk move. Period.

 

[adbutcher]

No, I think you gotta look deeper here. Walker has been trying to get a deal done since before last season. Walker's agent acutally approached the team before last season to discuss long term contract. The team promised walker that it would be addressed in the off season, contingent upon his performance and his willingness to do the right thing. Walker stipulated and responded with a great season. Walker again asked for a long term deal, based on discussion had previously, and was told that nothing would happen. Walker deserved a new contract. After this season, he would be an FA. That would certainly give him leverage so, it is very possable that the team would have been forced to write a new contract for him in order to avoid lossing him. Now, his ability to go to another team and get a big contract is pretty much gone. He has no leverage with the club.

I think Favre was wrong. The contract discussions between Walker and Green Bay, no matter what you think of it, was between Walker and Green Bay. Favre had no business getting publically involved IMO.

Ditto! That is why it is best you keep your peace to yourself. The same thing applied to Barber and Strahand. Company men doesn't go over well in the locker room, Favre or no Favre.

 

[NovaCowboy]

So Walker is the victim here? Please.

He's making 500K this season and another 650K next plus whatever he's made to this point and when his career is all said and done he'll probably go on to gross 10 mil even if he wasnt paid as a premium reciever. Thats still alot of money. Most of us wont see that kind of money in 20 years of working our ***** off at real jobs.

Take a look at that bone head Clinton Portis. Could there possibly be a human being as stupid and uneducated as he is? The mans a millionaire, I have no pitty on professional athletes when it comes to the money they make.

 

[ravidubey]

Favre clearly should have minded his own business. I don't know how much Walker's coming back to camp was because of what Favre said, but it was definitely a factor. Now Walker has to wait two seasons (if he's lucky) before getting paid. If Favre is no longer in Green Bay next year (very likely) Walker will be getting passes from a first-year starter in Rogers. His statistics probably won't reflect what he had with Favre, and will give Green Bay the ammo it needs to low-ball him. Walker is all but screwed in Green Bay.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

So Walker is the victim here? Please.

He's making 500K this season and another 650K next plus whatever he's made to this point and when his career is all said and done he'll probably go on to gross 10 mil even if he wasnt paid as a premium reciever. Thats still alot of money. Most of us wont see that kind of money in 20 years of working our ***** off at real jobs.

Take a look at that bone head Clinton Portis. Could there possibly be a human being as stupid and uneducated as he is? The mans a millionaire, I have no pitty on professional athletes when it comes to the money they make.

I am not aware of any 650K deal next year but if you say that's what it is, OK. I will tell you this. If the going rate for a top NFL receiver is 650K, then I agree with you. If the going rate for a top NFL receiver is 10 Million, then why wouldn't he deserve to make his pay scale? I don't love the salaries that are being paid to todays athletes but it's the fault of the NFL and the owners. They don't have to pay these guys those kinds of salaries. They could just say no. They don't do that.

If it were you and you had the ability to be a top 5 WR in the NFL, would you settle for 650K a year? Some how, I doubt you would. I know that I wouldn't. If the pay was set at a couple of million, then that's what I would feel as if I were intitled to.

That's like saying that an Electrical Engineer should be getting paid what a bus boy at your local diner gets because 300K a year, or whatever it is, is five times what the bus boy would make.

It's all relative.

 

[ravidubey]

So Walker is the victim here? Please.

He's making 500K this season and another 650K next plus whatever he's made to this point and when his career is all said and done he'll probably go on to gross 10 mil even if he wasnt paid as a premium reciever. Thats still alot of money. Most of us wont see that kind of money in 20 years of working our ***** off at real jobs.

This is an issue when he would have pocketed a signing bonus twenty times that number. Walker's compensation should be settled between the team and himself. He needed support, not derision, from his teammates.

When Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek held out in 1992, Troy Aikman was faxing them the plays. That's called support!

 

[Rack]

Sorry but Irvin's full of it on this one. Walker already had a contract. Period.


And how bout looking at the other side of the coin? What if they gave in to Walker, gave him his millions - including a fat signing bonus, then he gets hurt in the first game of the year? Any of you remember Joey Galloway? I know Galloway isn't as good as Walker (although Walker has had 1 good season, but Galloway had put together 2 pretty good season in a row before his holdout year), but the point still stands.

Try looking at both sides of the coin there, Michael.

 

[TNCowboy]

Financially, I don't feel sorry for Walker, though I don't want to see anyone get injured. But he's made about $8M in his career thusfar, so it's not as though he was a FA rookie playing for the minimum.

Walker and Terrell Owens and whoever else wants to complain has that right, but they both signed contracts that no one forced them too, and they both signed them knowing how the CBA works and that the situation sometimes favors the owners.

If I were in Favre's shoes, I'd probably have done the same thing. Personally, I'd prefer he do it in private, but I doubt that would've affected Walker the way public statements do. Walker knew that he wouldn't be a FA for 5 yrs when he signed the contract. He has the right to complain, hold out, quit or whatever he wants to do, but as for being right, it's no more right for him to ask for more $ than it is for a team to ask for $ back from draft picks who stink and get big siging bonuses.

Those who take Walker's side, ask yourself this question: would he - or should he - give the $8million he made back if he had played poorly? No is what most of you would say, and so would I. Teams don't get salary cap refunds for players who suck, nor should players who play well - as they were supposed to - get a big new contract when they're already under contract. If teams pay top $ to guys who stink and have to then pay extra to guys under contract who pan out, the system as it currently is won't work.

Michael - being a former WR and one who held out himself as a FA - naturally takes Walker's side. But I doubt you'll ever hear Irvin saying that bad players should forfeit their salaries.

Remember, the players agreed to this system. It wasn't done in a corner. Walker's a rookie who had no say in the CBA, but then neither does a new member in the teamsters, or in most other unions. Walker got a bad break, but he'll probably recover.

 

[alpha]

So Walker is the victim here? Please.

He's making 500K this season and another 650K next plus whatever he's made to this point and when his career is all said and done he'll probably go on to gross 10 mil even if he wasnt paid as a premium reciever. Thats still alot of money. Most of us wont see that kind of money in 20 years of working our ***** off at real jobs.

Take a look at that bone head Clinton Portis. Could there possibly be a human being as stupid and uneducated as he is? The mans a millionaire, I have no pitty on professional athletes when it comes to the money they make.

Like ABQ said, $500K may be a lotta scratch to you and me, but it's minimum wage in the NFL. And it's nowhere close to fair market value. Isn't Javon's production (89 recs, 1382 yards, 12 TDs) worthy of more compensation than say any other fringe fourth-year player that may or may not even be active on game day? Of course it is.

The team isn't interested in doing the right thing (compensating their employees equitably with their fair market value) when they can take advantage of the system and pay one of the leagues premiere wideouts no more than a scout team backup that may never be activiated.

The problem with this system is the players assume all the risk. If that injury had been career ending Javon would've been cut before he ever saw the $650K he currently under contract for, much less the big payday he's earned. As of right now, there's no garantee Javon will ever see more than the $500K he's due this season. When you consider the avg career in the NFL is just four years, and the sacrifices these guys make in their quality of life after retirement, Javon's demands don't seem quite so unreasonable, IMHO.

I'm not saying he should be rewarded with a precedent setting deal given to players that have put up those same numbers over time. But the very least the Pack org should have done was offer him an incentive laden deal with the potential to pay him fairly should he match or surpass his '04 performance, especially considering the verbal commitment Pack management made to Javon/his agent just a few months earlier.