Brett Favre said it's hard to believe that Derek Chauvin meant to kill George Floyd, and other athletes have lashed out at him in response

• Brett Favre said it was "hard to believe" Derek Chauvin meant to kill George Floyd.
• Favre made the comments Wednesday on his podcast "Bolling With Favre."
• Several NFL current and former players have responded negatively to Favre on social media.

Brett Favre said he found it hard to believe that Derek Chauvin meant to kill George Floyd.

The Hall of Fame NFL quarterback gave his perspective on Chauvin's guilty verdict on his podcast "Bolling With Favre" on Wednesday.

"I find it hard to believe, and I'm not defending Derek Chauvin in any way - I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd," Favre said.

"That being said, his actions were uncalled for," he added. "I don't care what color the person is on the street. I don't know what led to that video that we saw where his knee is on his neck, but the man had thrown in the towel."

Favre's comments sparked strong backlash from other players.

Former Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith addressed Favre's comments with an Instagram post, saying: "I have so much respect for the career you had. HOF, awards, etc. ... However on this subject, yo Mr. Favre STFU respectfully real talk! Privilege ass!"

Another former NFL wide receiver, Torrey Smith, indicated he didn't believe Favre should be asked about any topics other than playing quarterback.

One week earlier, during an appearance on The Daily Wire's "The Andrew Klavan Show," Favre said he felt sports were becoming too political and fans had stopped watching because of athletes taking public stances on issues.

"I can't tell you how many people - including yourself - tell me: 'I don't watch anymore. It's not about the game anymore.' And I tend to agree," Favre said.

"I know when I turn on a game, I want to watch a game," he added. "I want to watch players play and teams win, lose, come from behind. I want to watch all the important parts of the game, not what's going on outside of the game, and I think the general fan feels the same way."

In August, Favre stirred controversy over his stance on racial issues in the US when he told USA Today that there was "no right answer" on the topic of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.

"I know from being in an NFL locker room for 20 years, regardless of race, background, money you grew up with, we were all brothers - it didn't matter," Favre said.

He added: "Guys got along great. Will that be the same [with kneeling scenario]? I don't know. If one guy chooses to stand for his cause and another guy chooses to kneel for his cause, is one right and the other wrong? I don't believe so. We tend to be fixed on highs.

"I don't know what it's like to be Black. It's not for me to say what's right and what's wrong. I do know we should all be treated equal. If you can't do that, you shouldn't be in America."