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ESPN’s Jemele Hill: “A Lot Of People…May Owe Jenn Sterger An Apology”

The Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger saga returned to the news cycle this week, thanks to Sterger’s appearance on Good Morning America yesterday (followed by another segment today). And while Sterger’s interviews didn’t provide any big revelations, they provided another chance to re-examine the situation. ESPN’s Jemele Hill did just that…and came away feeling pretty badly for Sterger.

Hill penned a column yesterday in which she asked, “Is Jenn Sterger owed an apology?” and reiterated the sentiment on today’s First Take. She said Sterger’s interview “kind of changed my mind on the situation,” and that she found Sterger “credible and compelling.” (We weren’t sure, though, about Hill’s opinion that “for the most part…[Favre] has his reputation.” Maybe he does in some quarters…maybe.)

She didn’t totally let Sterger off the hook, however:

“If she deserves any criticism, it’s for: one, telling the guy from Deadspin, A.J. Daulerio – for telling him about the incident, thinking [he] was just going to maintain that confidence, even though everyone knows the nature of his site, [ed. note: especially many currently or formerly employed by the network on which Hill was speaking] and showing it to other people, who…of course, if you say, ‘this is Brett Favre,’ they’re going to tell everybody.”

Then, Skip Bayless weighed in, and said he didn’t have any more sympathy for Sterger after seeing the interview, saying Sterger “could have just ignored it, and trust me – at some point, it would have just gone away.” Hill pointed out that Sterger said she did ignore all of Favre’s advances, and it only came to light because a third party sold the information to Deadspin.

And while we do understand, why Bayless said, “I’m not sure why she has to speak about it now” – after all, that is the reason we’re still talking about it – we also understand why Sterger would want a public forum to explain her side of things. Video of Hill’s comments below.