Sports

Brett Favre Would Prefer His Grandsons Play This Sport Instead Of Football

(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Jena Greene Reporter
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Former NFL legend Brett Favre would rather his grandsons stay far away from the football field.

Favre was a guest on the Rich Eisen show earlier this week to promote his upcoming documentary, “Shocked: A Hidden Factor in the Sports Concussion Crisis.”

The documentary, which premieres Thursday at 5:30 p.m. via the Stadium platform, takes an unconventional approach to sports-related concussions. Favre argues that head injuries sustained from “head to field” hits aren’t getting enough attention — and could be responsible for a large amount of undiagnosed head trauma.

“We debate helmets until we’re blue in the face in a sport like football,” the film says. “But when you actually look at the data, nearly one in four [head injuries] are happening from someone’s head hitting the ground.”

Although Favre spent 20 years in the NFL and still continues to be an active brand ambassador, he’s expressed concern about his own history with head injuries.

“I couldn’t even tell you how many times my ears were ringing, I saw stars, [I had] a little fogginess — that was pretty much every time I got hit or my head hit the turf,” he told Eisen. “And I’m sure most players could say that. And what we’re finding out is that’s as bad — if not worse — than, you know, the knock-out blows.”

When Eisen pressed Favre on whether he wants his grandkids to play football, he gave an answer that might surprise most.

“I got three grandsons,” he said. “I’m not going to encourage them to play football, I’m not going to discourage them, but I would much rather be their caddy in golf than watch them play football.”

While it may be shocking to learn that a football legend like Brett Favre doesn’t want his family playing football, it’s certainly not new. Mike Ditka, Drew Brees, Troy Aikman, Adrian Peterson and Terry Bradshaw have all expressed similar sentiments.

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