Mark Gastineau is suing ESPN … claiming the network did irreparable harm to his reputation when it posted an edited video of his 2023 altercation with Brett Favre.
The now-viral incident took place in November ’23 at a sports show in Chicago … when Gastineau confronted the ex-Packers star about a 2002 sack he gave up to Michael Strahanthat allowed Strahan to break the New York Jets legend’s single-season record.
Gastineau appeared furious with the ex-Packers signal-caller in the footage ESPN obtained … and he could be heard in the clip telling Favre over and over again his actions during the ’02 game “hurt me.”
ESPN ended up running the vid as a teaser for its “30 For 30: The New York Sack Exchange” documentary … and in a lawsuit filed in a federal court in New York on Tuesday, Gastineau insists he’s suffered serious damages over it.
Gastineau claims ESPN “intentionally and maliciously did not publish” the part of his encounter with Favre where the two shook hands … which he believes made the encounter appear more aggressive than it was in reality.
He said as a result, he’s “been attacked on social media with ridicule, scorn and contempt.”
He also said he never gave ESPN permission to record the private moment … and, to make matters even worse for Gastineau, he says when he eventually signed on in January 2024 to participate in the “30 For 30” doc, he and ESPN agreed that he’d get to approve any modifications they made to the work, including the Favre vid.
Gastineau is now seeking over $25 million in damages.
We’ve reached out to ESPN for comment, but so far, we’ve yet to hear back.
For Favre’s part, he had an issue with ESPN’s clip as well — in December 2024, he said on his X page, “It’s not the kind of moment that should be filmed and released. It was a private moment of frustration between two old football warriors.”
The Hall of Famer added, “Mark definitely left an indelible mark on the game. I hope this controversy brings attention to just how great Mark Gastineau was.”
