Brett Favre wants politics out of sports, says kneeling during anthem has 'created more turmoil'

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Brett Favre wants to keep politics out of sports.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer said as much Sunday during an interview on "The Andy Klavan Show," whose namesake host is a conservative commentator and author. Favre said the mixing of sports and politics has hurt the former inasmuch fans don't want it bogged down with outside political or social commentary.

"I know when I turn on a game, I want to watch a game," Favre said. "I want to watch players play and teams win, lose, come from behind. I want to watch all the important parts of the game, not what's going on outside of the game, and I think the general fan feels the same way.

"I can't tell you how many people have said to me, 'I don't watch anymore; it's not about the game anymore.' And I tend to agree."

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Favre's comments came just days after MLB pulled its All-Star game from Atlanta as a result of Georgia's new restrictive voting law. Three days after Favre appeared on Klavan's show, three Minnesota sports franchises — MLB's Twins, the NBA's Timberwolves and NHL's Wild — all postponed games after the shooting death of Daunte Wright, a Black man killed by a white police officer. The NFL's Vikings also released a statement calling for a rehaul of police training and improved relationships in the Black community.

Favre, who on Oct. 30. 2020, tweeted that he would vote for then-President Donald Trump, was then asked why it would be controversial for him to support Trump as opposed to players kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. He said the debate was lopsided in favor of kneeling, adding that the action has "created more turmoil than good."

"I guess the jury is out on whether or not it will be a good thing or not. I think it's created more turmoil than good," Favre said. "Something has to unite us. And the game, or games, or sport in the past has been kind of a unification. Now it's almost like a division.

"It's a shame. It's too bad."

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Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News.