Tiki Barber Calls Himself a ‘Reverse Anne Frank’
Talk about a strange analogy.
Football pro-turned-TV-star-turned-football-pro-hopeful Tiki Barber is catching a lot of heat for a comment he made to a Sports Illustrated reporter in which he compared himself to Anne Frank. The New York Post’s headline reads, “Tiki comparing self with Anne Frank just despicable”, and the Daily News declared, “Tiki Barber, trying to look smart by invoking Anne Frank in SI piece, just looks dumb.”
In the interview, Barber, who’s attempting a comeback after retiring in 2007, discussed his very public split from his eight-month-pregnant wife Ginny and subsequent relationship with a very young and very blonde NBC intern, Traci Johnson.
Barber said the intense media scrutiny forced him and his young girlfriend into hiding — in the attic of his Jewish agent, Mark Lepselter.
“Lep’s Jewish,” Barber said, “and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing.”
Um… not quite, Tiki. No wonder the guy’s leaving the broadcast world.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.