True Crime Obsessed: “Untold: The Fall of Favre” (Episode 463)

Release Date: October 21, 2025
Hosts: Jillian Bedavalli & Patrick Hines

Main Theme

This episode recaps the Netflix sports documentary "Untold: The Fall of Favre," exploring the meteoric rise and devastating fall of NFL star Brett Favre. The hosts examine Favre's football career, celebrity worship, and the shocking off-field scandals—including allegations of sexual harassment and the largest welfare fraud in Mississippi’s history. With humor and incisive critique, Jillian and Patrick dissect the culture of sports hero-worship, misogyny, and systemic failures that allowed Favre’s abuses to go unchecked.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hero Worship and Its Consequences (00:37—09:08)

• Brett Favre is immediately painted as a problematic figure, both for his actions and the idolatry surrounding him.
• Green Bay’s obsession with football fuels extreme hero worship, leading local culture to excuse and overlook players’ misdeeds.
  • “The hero worship goes to the next level. And that's really the crux of this whole thing.” —Jillian, [09:38]
• The hosts discuss how young athletes are often dehumanized and treated as gods, encouraging entitlement and bad behavior.
  • “Treating him like a God when he's 20 years old just led to him being a piece of shit off the field.” —Patrick, [04:46]

2. Separating the Art from the Artist (10:04—11:04)

• Jillian and Patrick confront the difficulty of admiring athletic talent while reckoning with serious personal failings.
  • “It's hard to talk about how beautiful... It's like watching O.J.” —Jillian, [10:29]

3. Favre’s Rise and Football Career (12:26—19:46)

• The podcast recaps Favre’s rise: high school prodigy, University of Southern Mississippi breakout, and NFL “gunslinger.”
• Favre’s Green Bay era led to a Packers renaissance, breaking a 20-year slump and fueling even greater ‘god’ status.

4. Women in Sports Media: Jen Sturger’s Story (20:13—31:18)

• Jen Sturger, initially spotlighted for her looks (“cowgirl co-ed”), is sexualized by media and fans.
• Despite using her newfound notoriety to advance her career, Jen is never allowed to control her own narrative.
  • “The world should be such that this beautiful, brilliant woman can do Maxim, Playboy, in Sports Illustrated and also go to criminology class and be taken seriously.” —Jillian, [29:31]
• Her experience highlights the double standard and lack of agency for women in male-dominated spaces.

5. The Harassment Begins: Power Imbalance (51:36—58:49)

• Favre’s pattern of inappropriate behavior escalates when Jen is targeted for sexual harassment after joining the Jets as a game day host.
  • “This person just keeps pushing the boundaries.” —Patrick, [54:48]
• Brett Favre personally reaches out—via MySpace and then through illegally obtained phone contacts, sending persistent messages and explicit photos.
• Jen is left in a no-win situation: respond and risk retaliation, complain and get fired, or ignore and still lose her career.
  • “There is no good solution for her.” —Jillian, [55:53]

6. The Fallout: Systemic Abuse and Media Betrayal (58:49—71:14)

• Jen’s contract is not renewed after she rebuffs Favre—she did nothing wrong, yet her career is derailed.
• The story gets out, not through Jen, but through Deadspin, where an off-the-record conversation is mercilessly published without her consent.
  • “She loses her job because of this. Because she did nothing.” —Patrick, [66:22]
• Jen becomes the villain in public discourse, blamed for the scandal, and further objectified by the press.

7. The Lack of Accountability (71:14—77:02)

• Amidst mounting media attention, Favre never faces meaningful consequences; the NFL issues a fine for “lack of candor,” not harassment.
• Jen Sturger's story is co-opted, and she is forced to relive her trauma in a media circus, met with skepticism and victim-blaming—even by supposed allies like George Stephanopoulos.
  • “She did nothing. She didn’t start it and she didn’t respond to it. She did nothing.” —Jillian, [72:26]
• Other women (Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole) reveal similar harassment and subsequent firings, showing a pattern of institutional neglect.

8. The Welfare Scandal: Greed on a Massive Scale (78:47—84:50)

• The documentary’s final act uncovers Favre’s involvement in siphoning at least $5 million of Mississippi welfare funds (the poorest state in the U.S.) to build a volleyball stadium for his daughter.
  • “He’s stealing welfare money from the state of Mississippi, which, by the way, is the poorest state in the country.” —Patrick, [80:20]
• The scheme involved corrupt officials, laundering money through state programs. Favre’s net worth—over $100 million—makes his actions especially egregious.
  • “You should be so horrified that... the money intended for these kids... Brett Favre alone... $1.1 million just for himself.” —Jillian, [83:37]
• No meaningful legal or professional consequences follow; Favre remains an icon, protected by his celebrity and whiteness.
  • “If you are perceived as a superstar and you are white, in many instances, you get a pass. Brett Favre is getting a pass.” —Sports Journalist, [86:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Sports Hero Worship:
  “It's like, we, we've talked about this off mic, but like, I am not a separate the art from the artist kind of person...it's really hard because...it is magical to watch what he can do...but I don't want to give this guy any props because he's such a monster.” —Jillian, [10:04–10:46]

• On Women’s Agency:
  “The world should be such that this beautiful, brilliant woman can do Maxim, Playboy, in Sports Illustrated and also go to criminology class and be taken seriously. The world should be like that. I know.” —Jillian, [29:31]

• On Harassment:
  “She loses her job because of this. Because she did nothing.” —Patrick, [66:22]

• On Systemic Victim-Blaming:
  “She was feeling so alone and so silenced for so long that she said it to someone and instantly realized the mistake.” —Patrick, [70:29]

• On Accountability:
  "If you are perceived as a superstar and you are white, in many instances, you get a pass. Brett Favre is getting a pass."—Sports Journalist / Narrator, [86:07]

Important Timestamps

• [01:37] – Introducing the documentary & Favre's name/running joke
• [04:19] – Favre’s early athletic talent and mythic status
• [13:08] – Sports fandom and community: why the culture matters
• [20:13] – Introducing Jen Sturger; sports media as a hostile landscape
• [27:40] – Media’s sexualization of Jen & public objectification
• [51:36] – The harassment: Favre begins to target Jen
• [54:47] – Favre’s explicit messages escalate; institutional powerlessness
• [62:04] – Jen loses her job; isolation and lack of support
• [66:22] – Deadspin publishes the harassment story against Jen’s will
• [72:19] – George Stephanopoulos victim-blames Jen in an interview
• [75:01] – “Gotta respect the guy”—men excuse Favre’s behavior
• [78:47] – The welfare scandal unfolds; Favre's unchecked greed
• [86:07] – Final assessment: white privilege and superstar immunity

Tone

The hosts’ signature blend of humor and righteous outrage flows throughout. They celebrate righteous women, excoriate institutional misogyny, and never lose sight of the humanity at the story’s core. The comedic banter is frequently underlined by anger and sadness for victims, but always punctuated with clear-eyed calls for systemic change and accountability.

Conclusion

This episode explores not only Brett Favre’s individual failings but also the larger systems—sports hero worship, misogynistic media, and institutional power—that enable and excuse his egregious behavior. The hosts champion Jen Sturger and other women like her, advocating for more female representation and support structures in sports and media. Ultimately, "Untold: The Fall of Favre" becomes a lens for questioning who we elevate in society, who we protect, and at what cost.

Team Jen. Team Women. Team Bennie Thompson. Anyone but Brett Favre. —Patrick & Jillian, [86:54]