Can an Internet star take down one of the most famous athletes of all time? The full story might not ever be known, but thanks to the publishing power of the Internet the names Jenn Sterger and Brett Favre will be linked forever.

Sterger gained fame in a way that could only happen during the era of the Internet. During a national broadcast of a Florida State football game, announcer Brent Musburger noted Sterger, who was decked out in a “cowgirl outfit”. The cowgirls were a group of attractive co-eds that dressed in skimpy outfits for every football game. Picture of her screen shot soon spread around the Internet and Sterger became a minor sensation. See parlayed her 15 minutes of fame into a cowgirl calendars and a featured pictorial in Playboy. Shortly after the initial blowup, the hype around Sterger seemed to slow down, and she tried to transition her fame into a career as a television reporter.

Sterger has been a reporter for the Versus Network show “The Daily Line”, but it was not her work that has brought her back into the attention of the public. Even though she might not have wanted it, renegade sports blog Deadspin reported that Sterger had been sexually approached by Brett Favre when both were involved with the New York Jets. Sterger confirmed that she received inappropriate text messages and voicemails from someone she believed to be Favre, but she did not provide the website with copies of the obscene texts. Deadspin claims to have purchased the texts from a third party.

The Favre story offers another glimpse into the world of wealthy professional athletes. Tiger Woods suffered a terrible fall from grace after text messages he sent to a seemingly endless stream of mistresses went viral. Woods and Favre show that no matter a person’s level of fame the Internet has made the most powerful people vulnerable to the prying eyes of a judgmental public.