Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber went after New York Daily News writer Gary Myers since he wrote a column back in 2006 on Barber being a distraction at the end of his career.
On Monday Myers tweeted that Barber hasn’t changed after he stated that the Giants need to fire head coach Tom Coughlin.
Tiki Barber hasn’t changed. He’s calling for Tom Coughlin to be fired. Coughlin was turning Tiki into HOF player before he abruptly quit.
— Gary Myers (@garymyersNYDN) November 18, 2014
Tiki quit football to become next Matt Lauer. How did that work out? Then when he trained for a comeback in 2011 nobody signed him.
— Gary Myers (@garymyersNYDN) November 18, 2014
Barber had Myers on his radio show today and fired verbal shots at him for almost seven minutes.
“I’m tired,” Barber told Myers. “I’m tired. At some point, I have to stick up for myself. The personal shots that you take at me are ridiculous, Gary. Ridiculous.”
“First, get your facts correct,” Myers responded. “I didn’t write anything about you in the Daily News. I just put a couple of mentions on Twitter last night. What I wrote about you in 2006 was not ridiculous. I resent that characterization. . . . You’re obviously trying to pick a fight with me. I’m not going to let you do it.”
“No, I’m not picking a fight with you, Gary, because I actually don’t’ care about you,” Barber said. “I just wonder why everything you write is personal.”
“If you’re not going to let me talk, I’m going to hang up the phone,” Myers said. “You guys called me. I didn’t call you. If you want me to talk, that’s fine. If you want to just talk at me, (I’ll hang up). You’re trying to pick a fight with me now to make a name for yourself off of me, and I’m not going to let you do that.
“I’ll admit in 2006 I thought Coughlin should be fired because I thought he had completely lost the locker room,” Myers continued. “I have not written this year that he should be fired. In fact, last week I wrote that he should fire the Giants because of a lack of support from the general manager in terms of getting him personnel. I’ve taken the opposite approach this year. I think he’s had some poor coaching on both sides of the ball from his coordinators, but I don’t think he’s lost the locker room at all. I know you said that yesterday. I don’t know how much you’ve been around the team or if you even know anybody on the team anymore, but he has not lost the locker room.
“Tiki, I have nothing against you. I liked working with you for those two years. I had nothing against you. I didn’t take any personal shots at you.”
Barber disagreed when he referencing Myers’ tweets about his failed NBC career and NFL comeback.
“That’s snarky,” Barber said. “That’s cynical. That impinges on credibility of someone who’s supposed to objectively cover the New York Giants. That was my question to you, Gary. I don’t give a crap what you (think) about Tom Coughlin. And I will never, ever make a name off myself because of you. I rushed for 10,000 yards in the National Football League, I spent 10 years with the greatest organization in the NFL, and I need to make my name off of you? Please. I ask you a question about why you personally attack me. You still have not answered it.”
“Well, I don’t consider it a personal attack,” Myers said. “I was just making a comment. Tiki, I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about you.”
“Trust me,” Barber responded, “I don’t spend any time thinking about you. But you obviously had to write about me. I will never write about you, Gary. I appreciate you. Thanks for joining us this morning. Have a great life.”
It really sounds like Barber thinks about Myers a lot. It’s really a shame what has happened to Barber, but it seems like no one in the New York media market respects him.
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