As a long and loyal Packers fan, one of the things I admired most about Brett Favre was his ability to execute the play fake. What green and gold die hard didnʼt get a good laugh after seeing Brett "throw" the ball when he had actually placed the pigskin in the belly of Dorsey Levens, Ahman Green, or Ryan Grant?

Early on, the tactic was designed to fool opposing defenses, in time it just became another trademark Favre move. There are so many Favre laced Packers memories that stick out in my mind and still send a chill down my spine: Number 4 sprinting around the Superdome after winning the Big One; the not-so-perfect throw on "Monday Night Football" in pouring rain to Antonio Freeman that we came to know as the "improbable bobble"; His gutsy and emotional performance against Oakland.

Those memories are now tainted. The legend will always be a great football player in my mind, but I now question his integrity.

I make my living covering pro athletes and realize that sports represents big business. Players need to look out for themselves, because at the end of the day, no one else will. I donʼt blame Favre for wanting a chance to play - anywhere --but I do fault him for the way it all unfolded.

Iʼm pretty confident that Brett Favre did not make the decision to retire entirely on his own. Although Iʼve never been a fly on his wall or phone tapped his conversations with Ted Thompson, I believe he was given an ultimatum. Retire or play, but make the decision NOW. Thatʼs no way to treat a guy who put Green Bay back on the NFL map.

With that said, Favre is a grown man. He could have asked for a little extra time and agreed to make his decision before the NFL draft. Instead, the future Hall of Famer stepped to the podium and walked away in a river of tears.

When those tears dried, Favre was dropping hints his career was far from over. Whether it was veiled answers to David Letterman about missing the game or hints dropped from his agent, the writing was on the wall. Favre was not done.

Again, the decision alone to return is not what eats away at me but rather the way Favre handled the situation.

Imagine how this story would have played had Favre made this statement: "I regret retiring early from the NFL. I am not ready to leave the game I love. Iʼm hoping Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and the Green Bay Packers will allow me to return."

By approaching his return with the same so-called humility he played with every Sunday, would have left a much better mark than late night text messages and subsequent phone conversations with the Purple Queens to the North.

Now, instead of looking like the team player he always claimed to be, Favre looks more like the prima donna, self-absorbed athlete Packers Nation thought they avoided.

Donʼt get me wrong, Ted Thompson looks just as bad as Favre does in this fiasco. It is a classic case of two egos clashing.

Shame on Favre. Shame, shame, shame on Thompson for putting Favre in a difficult situation. The biggest difference -- millions of people arenʼt running around in Thompson jerseys and cheering him on during his successes AND his failures.

The people of Green Bay and Packers fans stood by Favre through thick and thin. We loved him just as much (and maybe more) when he came clean about his drug and alcohol addiction. He was rarely booed when the ball landed in the hands of the other team, even during the biggest of games.

Which is why this turn of events stings worse than a hive full of bees.

All this time, Packers fans thought we had a guy who was different. A guy who truly put team and community before himself. A guy who would NEVER play for another team, let alone call up the archenemy division rival and try to lobby for a job.

It hurts to say it, but I think we just witnessed the greatest play fake in Packers history.