Tiki Barber: Why Barber's Comeback Is an Act of Selfish Desperation

Former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber is planning on ending his retirement from the National Football League.

Who will forget where they were when they first heard that glorious news?

In case you weren't quite sure, this is the portion of the article where I may need to flash my sarcasm sign for those who have difficulty deciphering the difference.

Barber has asked to be removed from New York's reserve-retirement list and stated that he intends to make a comeback once he is released.

Nothing can happen until a new CBA is reached.

So where will this leave Barber? First, we must understand where he is coming from before we can realize where he is headed.

Barber is selfish. That needs to be statement number one. If you take one thing from this article, let it be that fact.

Barber is all about him. It kind of makes you wonder why he didn't make it as a wide receiver instead of a running back. Don't they usually make the best divas?

In the past, certain players have come back because they missed the game. We were all hoping that would happen with Barry Sanders, but it never did.

Others have come back because they need to be in the spotlight. Again. Constantly. That is the Brett Favre story, and I will save that for another day.

Barber is coming back for a couple of reasons. The first goes back to his selfishness. The second, and perhaps most important, is that he is flat broke.

But don't feel bad, because it still all goes back to his selfishness.

Barber retired from the Giants in 2007. He played all 10 of his NFL seasons in New York and retired as the team's all-time leading rusher.

After retiring, Barber was hired by NBC to be a correspondent on The Today Show and Football Night In America. He always had a passion for television, or for being on television, or for being seen on television. I can't remember at this point.

But it was all downhill for Barber after that. On his way out the door, he knocked head coach Tom Coughlin. He said that quarterback Eli Manning was not a leader. 

The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl the following season.

Thanks for nothing, right Tiki?

But that was just the start. Last April, Barber left his wife of 11 years, Ginny. She was eight months pregnant expecting twins at that time.

Believe it or not, we haven't even reached the worst part yet.

Barber left his pregnant wife for the stations' former 23-year-old intern, Traci Johnson.

Class move, Tiki.

NBC must have agreed, because they cited its morals clause and terminated Barber's contract, which reportedly paid him more than $300,000 per year.

Barber was already a multi-millionaire throughout his playing days, so getting paid that much hardly seemed like a punishment.

Yet with all that money, Barber was quoted by the New York Post as saying that he was broke and could not pay for his divorce settlement.

Hence, the stink of desperation and selfishness when it comes to this comeback.

Barber will turn 36 this coming April. He has been out of the league for four seasons. I will save a handful of teams a lot of time whenever this new agreement is reached by letting them know that not only does Barber have nothing left to offer, but he will only hurt your team in the process.

This happens far too often in sports. Players put themselves ahead of everyone and everything else. Just because they miss the limelight or can't afford to pay the women who birthed their children, they feel that they can just forget about all of that and return to the sport that made them rich and famous.

But in the end, it is just another black spot on a league that can hardly afford any more.

Thank you for that as well, Mr. Barber. The league and their fans thanks you as well in advance.