Support for Favre muted as Pack shareholders meet

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- There were plenty of No. 4 jerseys in the stands and a smattering of jeers for general manager Ted Thompson at Thursday morning's annual meeting of Green Bay Packers shareholders at Lambeau Field.

But given the chance to air their grievances directly to the team's leadership, shareholders didn't turn the meeting into one big bring-back-Brett Favre rally.

Instead, most of the 9,375 people who attended the meeting pleasantly applauded Thompson and team president and CEO Mark Murphy, then gave a sustained standing ovation to head coach Mike McCarthy.

The reaction seemed to indicate that many of the fans who own a tiny stake in the team they love are backing the front office in its standoff with Favre. The three-time MVP asked to be released from his contract when his 11th-hour desire to unretire was met with lukewarm enthusiasm from the Packers, who committed to moving forward after Favre retired in March.

"Quite a few people look at the situation and say, 'Boy, that's really a tough one,'" Murphy said, speaking with reporters after the meeting. "You know, you've got an iconic player (who) has meant so much to the team. But with all the circumstances, the organization moved on after he retired. So I think people realize that it's a pretty delicate, sensitive situation and we're trying to handle it the best we can."

The Packers are the NFL's only publicly owned franchise. Shareholders vote for the team's board of directors, but don't earn dividends or get a direct say in the team's day-to-day operations.

The team's 112,000-plus shareholders are entitled to gather at Lambeau once a year to receive football and financial reports from the team's leaders. Murphy, a former NFL player who took over for longtime Packers top executive Bob Harlan in January, addressed the Favre situation in his opening remarks.

"We are all in unison, and are very supportive of the way Ted and Mike have handled this situation," Murphy told the crowd, drawing applause along with a boo or two.

"Brett has obviously meant so much to the Packers and the NFL," Murphy continued. "He will always be remembered as one of the finest players ever to play this game. We want to be fair to Brett, but we also must act in the best interest of the Packers."

Murphy said he wanted to turn the situation into a positive for Favre, the team and the fans -- causing a lone woman in the crowd to shout, "Bring him back!" -- then introduced Thompson.

"We are family here," Thompson said. "Families sometimes disagree. But they still remain family. We will always be part of the family, and I'm honored to be part of the Packer family."

After pausing briefly for applause, Thompson continued.

"This has been a difficult time for all of us, for everyone who cares about the Green Bay Packers," Thompson said. "This is a very complicated matter that we will continue to work through."