It’s no secret that New York media is a different animal, and there are some athletes who simply have failed to handle it.
Former New York Giant Tiki Barber dealt with it – and surely saw himself in the negative light plenty.
Ironically enough, the former All-Pro running back is now a member of said media, and he believes Aaron Rodgers, who the New York Jets are interested in acquiring, isn’t made for the different beast.
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Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passes against the Dolphins, Dec. 25, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)
Barber cited Rodgers calling reports “fake news” about when his isolation retreat in total darkness would begin – a rather minor subject to be angry about, he believes.
“It just made me start to realize that if he is that sensitive that he gets upset that people, reporters, opinion-makers, influencers – whatever – want to talk about him, he is going to struggle in New York,” Barber said on his radio show on WFAN. “I don’t know if I want him in New York if this is going to be his reaction to things that don’t matter.”
The Packers quarterback took jabs at two reporters about his retreat.
“Let me just reiterate one more time. There’s an inner circle, right? And in my inner circle, nobody talks to [NFL Network’s] Ian Rapoport, to [ESPN’s] Adam Schefter, or to any of those people,” Rodgers said earlier this week. “So if you’re one of those people who’s talking to those people, it’s a great reminder for you, you’re not in the inner circle.”
Barber defended the reporters, and said Rodgers should “stop talking.”
Zach Wilson of the New York Jets speaks with Aaron Rodgers after beating the Packers, 27-10, at Lambeau Field on Oct. 16, 2022 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t want people talking about him, his offseason, his personal life and all these things that are going on with him, he needs to stop talking,” Barber said. “When you go and you’re doing something that feels odd to normal society, which is going to sit in a cabin in the woods for four days in complete isolation, we’re gonna talk about it! We have to! It’s our job to! For him to get offended by it, he’s not going to handle the intensity of the New York media-scape – traditional media, social, everything else – if he’s here. I don’t know if I want him here. Because it’s going to turn to a quick pain in the ass if Aaron Rodgers’ skin is that shallow that he’s taking shots at Ian Rapoport!”
Rodgers is slated to spend four days in darkness to contemplate his next move, which at this point, seems like it will be either in New York with the Jets or with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Aaron Rodgers of the Packers looks to pass against the Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field on Nov. 17, 2022, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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He has two years left on his three-year deal worth north of $150 million.
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