Ted Thompson: “It Was A Tough Time”

As veteran quarterback Brett Favre continues to inch toward ending his retirement and suiting up for the Minnesota Vikings this fall, the subject of the former NFL Most Valuable Player’s messy divorce from the Green Bay Packers continues to linger. At the center of that breakup was Favre’s reportedly icy relationship with Packers General Manager Ted Thompson. And that has spurred plenty of speculation that one of Favre’s chief motivations for playing again has to do with wanting revenge on Thompson. Thompson downplayed whether he was offended that Favre intends to play for the Vikings one year removed from Thompson thwarting Favre’s efforts to wind up in Minnesota last season, saying “No” four times when asked whether he had any hard feelings about Favre during an interview with Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. However, Thompson didn’t hide his feelings about the disruptive nature of Favre’s exit from Green Bay. “It was a tough time,” Thompson told ESPN.com. “A tough time for everybody.” When asked to clarify if he only meant that statement in the past tense in reference to Favre going to the New York Jets last summer, Thompson replied again: “Tough time for everybody.” It’s obvious that Favre, who played for the Packers for 16 years, will remain a touchy subject in Green Bay. Especially when it comes to the principals like Thompson who were directly involved in dealing with Favre’s high-profile power play last year.