Touchy Tiki

Last week, Tiki Barber let it be known that he will be retiring at the end of the season. Since then, he's caught some flack from members of the media and struck back on his radio show on Sirius Radio.

Tiki Barber has the right to retire at the end of the season. A few RB's have retired before their skills greatly diminished, including Barry Sanders and Robert Smith fairly recently. It's Barber's call. I don't know if he's doing it because he doesn't find it enjoyable anymore or if he's trying to get out while he is still healthy. Maybe there is a reason that no one but Barber and his circle know about.

Barber isn't being widely criticized for, potentially, retiring at the end of the season. The biggest media complaint is that Barber leaking this information in the middle of the season will cause a distraction for his teammates. Barber took offense to that and cited his performance and the Giants' performance on MNF against the Cowboys as evidence that it isn't a distraction. If Tiki Barber is as smart as people say he is, then he should know that argument doesn't hold much water. Performance may be linked to being distracted or not being distracted, but you don't know how the Giants would have performed if Barber hadn't let the info slip out. To some degree, Barber's announcement is a distraction. It might not be a major distraction or result in any drop in performance, but answering questions and having the extra media attention will be distracting to someone at some point in time.

Barber ripped Michael Irvin for saying that Barber is quitting and insinuated that Irvin is lacking in character. According to former Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman, Irvin was a great teammate and a great guy in the locker room. Away from the field, maybe Irvin has run into trouble. But, Irvin has great character as it relates to being on a football team. It's Barber's right, but he's retiring before he's given his all to his team. Irvin went out injured and couldn't play anymore. Aikman had too many concussions. Emmitt Smith ran for years and played in Arizona after Dallas no longer wanted him. Irvin might not understand walking away.

There is some merit to Irvin's claim that Barber is quitting. If a starting HS QB decides not to play his senior year because he wants to do the school musical to impress a girl, wouldn't you say he was quitting on his team? The Giants have invested in Barber and have yet to maximize the return, although they've done pretty well. Barber is giving the franchise some warning, but it would be nice to know at least a year in advance so you could draft a potential replacement and groom him for a year. So, is Barber quitting? I'd say to some extent, but it's definitely not like walking out on your team halfway through the season.

And, along the same lines, I agree that Barber is being selfish. I pulled this definition for selfish off the m-w.com website:
concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others
Why is Barber retiring? He's looking out for his own well-being and seeking his advantage by letting it be known early on so suitors can line up for his services after the year is over. What about the without regard for others part? Well, don't you think the Giants are a better team with Tiki than without? I'd say so. Selfish? Definitely. Now, everyone has to be a little bit selfish at times and he isn't hurting the team dramatically, if at all, other than that he won't be around in subsequent seasons. But, there isn't anything not selfish about this whole topic. He's looking out for #21 ... #21 on the NY Giants!