Source: Ryan Kang / Getty
It’s always heartbreaking when your favorite professional athlete switches squads, but when they link up with a rival, decorum might go out the window.
That was the case for Saquon Barkley, who signed a deal with the Philadephia Eagles after leaving the New York Giants.
Giants legend Tiki Barber couldn’t keep his critique in the group chat and responded on his WFAN radio show with how you’d expect any self respecting Giants fan to act: with anger.
“You’re dead to us, Saquon. Good luck, you’re dead to me,” he said with a smile on his face.
Barkley got wind of the comment and hopped on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a response proving he got under the running back’s skin.
“lol yup you’re the prime example of loyalty to a team,” he explained. “I got the deal I wanted, secured more gm which wasn’t given to me before… so if fans are gonna hate me for that so be it! But I never turned my back on my teammates and always had theirs.”
The loyalty Barkley called into question included several instances of Barber being a questionable teammate.
There was the time he was vocal about Michael Strahan being greedy for turning down a $17 million deal while already being the league’s highest-paid defensive player, and when, in 2006, word leaked midseason that he’d be retiring at the end of the season with dreams of being a broadcaster. He even critiques Eli Manning’s leadership, only for the quarterback to win the Super Bowl against the 18-0 New England Patriots a year after he retired.
Barkley continued, adding that Barber’s been critical of him since the Giants drafted him with the second overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.
“You been a hater since I got to New York … and all the ‘Dead to me’ talk don’t smile in my face when you see me,” he tweeted.
The controversy comes after the news of Barkley signing a three-year $37.75 million –with a guarantee $26 million– amid a running back reckoning fighting to get bigger contracts.
See how social media is reacting to the controversy below.
Saquon Barkley’s $37M Eagles Deal Leads To Beef With Tiki Barber Over New York Giants Loyalty was originally published on cassiuslife.com
