Since his controversial retirement at the conclusion of the 2006 season, Tiki Barber has had a rocky relationship with New York Giants fans. He has not, however, had as rocky a relationship with the team or its owners.
On Tuesday, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its teams, including the Giants, alleging racism in their hiring practices. He accused New York of running him through a “sham” process to make it appear as if a minority candidate was being seriously considered.
The Giants released a statement emphatically denying the allegations, noting that Flores was considered a finalist for the job.
“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach,” the statement read.
During Wednesday’s edition of First Take, host Stephen A. Smith took harsh aim at the Giants.
“Let me say this to the New York Giants. As an organization, when it comes to black coaches, I don’t believe a damn word you have to say,” Smith said. “There’s no one more incriminating than the New York Giants when it comes to black coaches. We are in the year 2022. All of these years, damn near a century for crying out loud, there is one single franchise that has not had a black coach. That is the New York Giants.”
There are six teams that have never hired a Black general manager or head coach on a full-time basis. Although the Giants did have a Black GM — Jerry Reese — they have never had a full-time Black head coach in their history.
Despite that, Barber took exception to Smith’s comments and came to defense of the Giants during the Tiki & Tierney on Wednesday.
“I just don’t think that the Maras, who I’ve known for 25 years, are racist,” Barber said, via Big Blue View.
“I’m not willing to scream and yell that the Giants, an organization that I revere, that I had a great relationship with, to say that they’re racist simply because they haven’t had a black head coach or a black quarterback.”
Barber then became emotion as he recounted a never-before-told story about visiting Wellington Mara’s bedside before the late owner passed away.
Tiki shares his heartfelt story about Wellington Mara: pic.twitter.com/JoQR7j2I33
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) February 2, 2022
“I went to his bedside and I just tell him thank you for making me a Giant,” Barber recalls. “The fact that the Maras, and I always said this with the Tisches as well, they embraced me like I was family. I know them intimately, so when I say I don’t believe they’re racist it’s because I know they’re not … I know they’re not a racist organization.”
Although Barber firmly believes the Giants are not a racist organization, he admits the NFL has a problem with hiring minority coaches.
“[The Giants] hired a general manager [Joe Schoen] who had an idea of who he wanted to be the head coach, and Brian Flores is lighting a match to the Giants’ organization and to the league, which needs to be explored. I’m not saying this doesn’t need to be explored,” Barber said.
“We’ve known this for two decades. The fact that there are Rooney Rules proves that we know this is an issue. The Rooney Rule is not perfect. It’s never going to be perfect because the pipeline for Black candidates is not wide enough, is not big enough. At the end of the day you try to do the best you can, and I think the league and the Giants, they’re trying to do the best they can.”
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