NFL 'won't interfere' and reopen Favre probe

The NFL indicated Tuesday it will not reopen an investigation into Brett Favre's behavior after he and the Jets were sued for sexual harassment by two Long Island massage therapists, a lawsuit the team's management called "without merit."

Asked whether commissioner Roger Goodell would reopen the probe in light of the latest allegations, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail, "There is litigation now and we would not do anything to interfere with the court."

Nassau County residents Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole claim they lost their jobs with the Jets after reporting the 2008 instances of alleged sexual harassment. They are seeking unspecified damages from Favre, the Jets and Lisa Ripi of Wantagh, an independent contractor who coordinates massage therapy for Jets players and hired the pair.

"Unfortunately, the plaintiffs never reported the allegations to the Jets, either during or after the conclusion of their work," said Gary H. Glaser, an attorney for the team. "The case against the Jets is completely without merit, and we look forward to defending the matter in court, where we are confident that the Jets will prevail."

In a telephone interview yesterday, Elizabeth Eilender, an attorney for the two plaintiffs, dismissed Glaser's comment that the two women did not notify the Jets management.

"The conduct was reported to Brett Favre and complained to Brett Favre," said Eilender, who added that Favre displayed "arrogance" in his behavior.

O'Toole could not be reached for comment. Scavo declined to comment.

The suit claims the two massage therapists lost their part-time jobs in 2008 with the Jets after complaining about sexually suggestive text messages from the team's former quarterback.

The suit, filed Monday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, includes a text message Favre allegedly sent to a third, unidentified massage therapist.

"Kinda lonely tonight," the message says, according to court documents. "I guess I have bad intentions."

The agent for Favre, who played for the Vikings this season, did not return a telephone message.

A man who pulled into the driveway of Ripi's home Tuesday said, "We're just speaking to our attorneys." Ripi's lawyer, Ken Wilensky of Uniondale, declined to comment.

The lawsuit says the two women worked for years at the Jets' training camp at Hofstra and "for various individual players and performed outcalls/outsource treatments at other locations, including players' homes." After Scavo and an unidentified colleague gave massages at the training camp in 2008, Favre sent the colleague a text message saying, "Brett here you and crissy want to get together I'm all alone," according to the lawsuit.

When Scavo told her husband, Joseph, about the text messages, the suit says, he tried to get Favre to apologize. Favre responded inappropriately and refused to apologize or take any other action, the suit says.

With Gary Dymski, Matthew Chayes and Yamiche Alcindor.