Four years ago, Tiki Barber threw dueces to the New York Giants and vowed to walk away from the game of football forever. Except that by "forever," it turns out he actually meant "four years." Barber recently announced that he's going to try and make a comeback in the NFL next season. And that's got him catching plenty of heat in the media—not just because, at 35, he's waaaay over the hill as an NFL running back—but because the perception is that after a failed stint as a sports/entertainment analyst for NBC and a very public affair he had with an NBC intern that ripped apart his marriage, he's doing this for the money.
But in a recent interview with the New York Post, he disputes that claim. "Let's face it," he says, "everything is about a job. Everything is about money, but that's not the sole reason why I'm doing something. I'm not going to play for free. Everybody needs to make a living."
He also admits fault for what he's done since walking away from the game—including the shots he's taken at former Giants teammate Eli Manning and Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. "I'll be the first to admit, I've made mistakes," he says. "I'm not infallible. I'm not perfect. That doesn't mean I'm gonna quit and give up and be resigned to being a pariah or however people want to paint me." All good, homie. Just don't expect a warm welcome back if you end up playing a game back in the Big Apple next season. [via NY Post]
