The shame is that, in the not so distant past, Favre was the pure guy, the untouchable, the great teammate who played for the love of the game. Now he shows up in training camp having spent the last few days contemplating how much it would have cost the Packers to keep him retired.

Green Bay didn't meet his price. That doesn't mean he didn't have one, though.

And for most people, that's the real price of this maudlin play, starring Brett Favre as "Redneck Hamlet." He's gone from being an icon to just another superstar, another guy who, despite the most earnest proclamations, puts himself above the team.

You expected this from Manny Ramirez, who dogged his way out of Boston.

Or maybe Kobe Bryant, who demanded a trade after the Lakers didn't deal Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd.

But Favre?

Yes, Favre. Turns out he's just another guy who held a franchise hostage. And of all people, Favre -- who made his non-retirement announcement an annual ritual -- should have known better.

This year was different, though. By saying goodbye in a tearful, nationally televised press conference, he gave even casual fans an emotional stake in his retirement.

Then he changed his mind. Maybe I'm no one to judge that. Certainly, it was fine with the Packers, who chartered a plane to Mississippi to work out the details of the un-retiring.

But then Favre told them not to bother. I changed my mind again, he said.

The Packers re-accepted his resignation with fresh regret. Aaron Rodgers, Favre's long-time understudy, would finally get his shot. Green Bay also used two draft picks on quarterbacks.

Then Favre started to get "the itch." He denied it, of course. Actually, in true superstar fashion, he had his people deny it. Meanwhile, he was telling the Packers, I changed my mind again.

Change your mind once, OK. Change it again, less OK. But to jerk people around as Favre has done -- while issuing public denials and allegedly negotiating with a divisional rival -- is not. I don't like taking management's side, but he's humiliated a team that tried to do the right thing by him.

Then again, judging from the Packers' Sunday press release, they are a team ripe for humiliation. This is not an outfit schooled in the finer points of crisis management. First, the Packers couldn't trade Favre. Then they couldn't bribe him. Now, they can't figure out what to do. Telling him to show up in Green Bay -- but only after the commissioner said he just couldn't keep Favre out any longer -- does not amount to a plan.

It's a good move only if it helps to trade him. Once in camp, Favre forfeits his right to refuse a deal. But after reading team president Mark Murphy's tortured statement, you have your doubts. Basically, the release calls Favre a liar while saying he'll be welcome in camp. My favorite sentence: "Having crossed the Rubicon once when Brett decided to retire, it's very difficult to reorient our plans and cross it again in the opposite direction -- but we'll put this to our advantage."

Maybe Ari Fleischer had something to do with that gem. The former White House press secretary has been working with the Packers. That's no reason to be cynical; he's entitled to make a score. After all, the pros from Washington never claim to be pure.

The last time I remember Fleischer, though, he was telling everyone about the weapons of mass destruction.

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