I’ve had a lot of coaches in my life, as I played a variety of sports through high school. Some were good, and some were really bad. The Minnesota Vikings coach, Brad Childress, is probably a lot like those really bad ones.

I’ve had a lot of teammates in my life, too, and just like the coaches, some were good and some were bad. Brett Favre is probably a lot like those really bad ones who got away with anything.

Childress couldn’t be a bad coach if Favre wasn’t a bad teammate. And Favre couldn’t be a bad teammate — at least not in the particular way he is a bad teammate — if he wasn’t viewed as a great player.

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Throughout my organized sports days, the worst coaches, in my opinion, were the ones who held different standards for the star players. And I don’t mean that they demanded more of them in practice or in games. I mean that if the star didn’t show up for practice he’d still start in the next game.

The best coaches, on the other hand, didn’t care if you were the star or the last guy on the bench — if you missed practice, or broke a team rule, or whatever, you were punished accordingly.

This obviously is not the type of coach Childress is. Or the type of organization the Vikings are. And Brett Favre is definitely the star player who can get away with murder.

Because by sitting out all of training camp and signing with the Vikings just today, he is setting a horrible example for young athletes. Regardless of what he might tell the media, Favre’s behavior speaks for itself. He didn’t want to do the hard part of the NFL (training camp); just the fun part (games). I guess Favre doesn’t even care for preseason games either, since he waited until Minnesota had played one of those, too.

The strange thing is, Favre is no longer an elite player. From everything I’ve heard and read, Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels are pretty awful, but as a Jets fan, I can tell you Favre has little to offer to an NFL team at this point in his career. And at $12 million, it’s not like you’re getting him at a good price.

But I’m not looking at the Vikings decision as a bad business one, even though it was. I don’t care that Favre isn’t a top-tier quarterback anymore. And it doesn’t concern me that the legacy Favre started to ruin last year is now completely destroyed.

What bothers me is that for the second straight season, the rules don’t apply to Favre. Are there worse guys in the NFL? Of course. Look at the Eagles, Browns, or most any other team if you want to find them. But few are as treacherous, selfish, or arrogant.

So shame on you, Brett.

But even more shame on you, Vikings, for making exceptions for a perceived star.