NFL legend Mark Gastineau is openly accusing NFL quarterback Brett Favre of “taking a dive” to allow Michael Strahan to beat Gastineau’s sack record. The ex-NFL player even delivered his accusation in person, face to face, at a recent autograph signing event.
Strahan beat Gastineau’s record in 2002 when he tackled Favre to earn his 22.5 sack record. But many have felt that Favre went down awfully easy.
WATCH:
January 6, 2002: Michael Strahan breaks the single-season sack record after “sacking” Brett Favre for his 22.5 sack on the season.
— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) January 7, 2024
pic.twitter.com/YwYDvOnib2
Mark Gastineau- who had a 22-sack record unbroken since 1984 at the time- is among those who feel Favre took a dive to give Strahan that record, Yardbreaker reported.
The former Jets star and two-time NFL sack leader is the subject of an upcoming documentary called 30 for 30, in which he vents at Favre.
“Anybody will tell you Brett Favre took a dive,” Gastineau says in the film. “…The NFL should have stopped that and said, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, that’s not a sack.’ He took my record away from me!”
Gastineau also confronted Favre in person last year at an autographing event that Favre was holding.
At the event, Gastineau blasted Favre right to his face, saying, “I’m going to get my sack back. I’m going to get my sack back, dude.”
Probably trying to keep things light, Favre replied, “You probably would hurt me.”
“I don’t care,” Gastineau yelled back. “You hurt me … Do you hear me? You really hurt me, Brett.”
22 years after losing the NFL single-season sack record, Mark Gastineau confronted Brett Favre for ‘taking a dive’ on the record-breaking play.
— ESPN (@espn) December 10, 2024
Catch the latest @30for30, 'The New York Sack Exchange,' on ESPN and ESPN+ starting Dec. 13. pic.twitter.com/Oz5KRwVcy7
It seems unlikely that anything will be done about Gastineau’s beef with Favre or the NFL. It is also not clear how much of this is for the documentary’s benefit.
ESPN’s documentary is set to air on December 13.
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