Tiki Barber

At 49 years old, Tiki Barber has this physical status:

Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons.

He played college football for the University of Virginia.

Barber was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, and played his entire professional career for the team.

Barber retired from the NFL at the end of the 2006 NFL postseason as the Giants' all-time rushing and reception leader.

Barber was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. Following his playing career, Barber became a national media presence, notably joining NBC's The Today Show as a correspondent in 2007 and Football Night in America/Sunday Night Football.

He has published multiple books. He is the identical twin brother of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber.

Personal life

Barber and his twin brother were born five weeks premature. Tiki was born seven minutes after his identical twin brother Ronde Barber. He was named Atiim Kiambu, which means "fiery-tempered king" because he was screaming shortly after his birth. Ronde was a cornerback who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won Super Bowl XXXVII against the Oakland Raiders.

Barber is the son of Geraldine Barber and Daniel X. Brack "DXB". Barber was a star running back at University of Virginia and later played in the National Football League. Barber's parents divorced when Barber was very young, and his father never provided financial support and rarely saw his sons when they were growing up. His mother Geraldine worked two sometimes three jobs to support her three sons. He has an older brother, Tarik Barber.

Barber married his University of Virginia sweetheart Virginia Cha Barber on May 15, 1999, and the couple resided on the Upper East Side New York City with Cha's parents living in an suite. Cha—of Korean and Vietnamese descent—was a fashion publicist for Zegna, a men's designer-clothing label. They have two sons, A.J. (Atiim Kiambu Junior), born July 8, 2002, and Chason, born March 18, 2004; and twin daughters Riley and Ella, born May 24, 2010.

On April 5, 2010, while Cha was seven months pregnant with their twin daughters, it was announced that Barber and his wife were separating after 11 years of marriage. It later became public that Barber had been cheating on Cha with 23-year-old Traci Lynn Johnson, whom he met while she was an NBC intern and he worked on the Today show. Johnson had babysat his and Barber's sons.

In the May 30, 2011 issue of Sports Illustrated, Barber described hiding out with Johnson in his agent Mark Lepselter's attic so that he would not get caught. Barber was quoted as saying that "Lep's Jewish, and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing." Barber's comments were quickly condemned by New York Post sports columnist Mike Vaccaro.

Just eight days after his divorce from Cha was final, on July 20, 2012, Barber and Johnson married in a simple civil ceremony in a New York courtroom. Johnson gave birth to their daughter Brooklyn on December 27, 2013. In July 2016 their second daughter, and Tiki's sixth child, Teagan, was born.

In 2014, Barber supported CC Sabathia's charity, the PitCCh In Foundation, by running in the 2014 New York City Marathon. He achieved a 5:14:37 running time.

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College career

Barber earned a graduate degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia in order to major in commerce. Barber maintained his focus on his studies, but he also became an outstanding college athlete; he tied the University of Virginia's long jump record on his first jump; and put the University of Virginia's football program back on the map;

Barber rushed for nearly 1,400 yards in his junior season, leading the Cavaliers to a share of the ACC championship.

He rushed for over 1,300 yards and was named ACC Player of the Year in his senior year.

Barber completed his college career with 651 yards for 3,389 yards and 31 touchdowns, as well as 64 receptions for 602 yards with two touchdowns.

During Barber's time at UVA, he was a member of the IMP Society, one of the University's little societies.

Professional career

Barber was regarded as a third-down, "change of speed" back, but he went back to be a standout running back and the all-time leader in total rushing yards for the New York Giants. He was the NFL's top yardage gainer from scrimmage in 2005. Barber was voted to three Pro Bowls by his peers. Barber gained the most yards from scrimmage in the four-year franchise from 2003 to 2006.

Barber was chosen by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft, out of the University of Virginia. He was supposed to be a third-down running back before Rodney Hampton's rocky years in 1996 and 1997. Hampton retired after the 1997 season, leaving Barber with the starting lineup. He began his career with a bad rookie season in which he started running back and rushed for 511 yards and three touchdowns. Barber missed four games due to a knee injury, but he has returned to the starting lineup for the final two games of the year. In 1998, he was appointed as a starter and spent a frustrating, injury-ridden year before returning to 1999, where he gained 1,639 all-purpose yards, using his punt return and receiving skills.

In Super Bowl XXV, Barber and the Giants were the NFC champions of the NFL in 2001, but they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in the game. Following the 2000 season, Barber, a start-up and playmaker, was granted a six-year deal with the Giants. Following the signing, he called himself "the happiest man in New York right now."

Barber will be an integral part of the Giants' offense over the next four years. Tiki exploded for 203 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in the last regular season game of the season, putting together one of the league's best defenses at the time. His help earned the Giants a playoff spot, but the team lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round. He finished the season with 1,984 yards from scrimmage.

The Giants finished 4–12.

Barber made his way to the end zone in 2004 for a career-high 15 touchdowns. For 2,096 total yards from scrimmage, he rushed for 1,518 yards and 578 receiving yards. Barber set a new all-time rushing record and Joe Morris' single-season rushing record in the same game on January 2, 2005, as the 2004 season finale. Barber broke the game's final offensive play when he scored a game-winning touchdown to put an otherwise dismal 6–10 record for the Giants to an end.

The 2005 season was a rebound year for the Giants and Barber's career year in terms of rushing yards. For the first time since 2000, Led Manning and Barber led the NFC East crown and finished 11-5. Barber set a single-game rushing record against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 17, 2005, breaking his own record the next year. In week 8, it was his second (of three) 200-yard rushing games during the 2005 season, as he ran for 206 yards. The Giants promptly shut down the Washington Redskins 36-0 two days after Wellington Mara was buried, owing to their beloved owner, to whom Tiki himself was particularly close.

With a total effort of 2,390 all-purpose yards against the Oakland Raiders in the final game of the season, he finished the 2005 regular season with 1,860 rushing yards (second in the league to Shaun Alexander and a career-high for Barber) and 2,390 all-purpose yards. Barber's 95-yard touchdown run tied a Giants' team record for longest touchdown run, previously held by Hap Moran for a 91-yard run against the Green Bay Packers on November 23, 1930.

Chris Johnson's 960 yards from scrimmage in December 2005 was a NFL record before it was upset by him, who had 968 from scrimmage in November 2009.

In the wild-card round of the playoffs, the Giants were shut out 23–0 to the Carolina Panthers.

Barber's 2,390 total yards for 2005 was the second highest in NFL history, at the time, behind Marshall Faulk's 2,429 total yards in 1999. It is also the largest number for a presidential run of 30 years or older. For the second time in his career, he was voted an All Pro. In the 2005 nomination for the coveted MVP award, Barber came in second place. Shaun Alexander, the Seattle Seahawks' running back, received the award, followed by Peyton Manning (second place) and Tom Brady (third place).

He was nominated for the 2005 FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award, as well as LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander. Barber also signed a contract extension in September 2005, which extended his employment until 2008 and increased his compensation.

Barber continued his fine play in his final season and final games as an NFL player in 2006, a rare occurrence for running backs who often come late in their careers. His total yardage on the season was higher than that of any other running back in history in their last season.

In his 2006 campaign, Barber passed for 1,662 yards and five touchdowns. Barber rushed for 112 yards at week 14 at Carolina to help the Giants break a four-game losing streak. In Week 17 at Washington, where Tiki scored 234 yards and three touchdowns in the Giants' 34–28 victory over the Redskins, the Giants' best game in 2006, winning the Giants a playoff spot. Tiki set a new team record for rushing yards in a single game against Kansas City last year. His 234 passing yards are the most by a player over 30 years old. He also holds the most 200-yard rushing games by a player over 30 years old with four. Only three other players have one.

Barber rushed for 137 yards on 26 carries in his last game with the Giants, a playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. "You're a soldier" after the game, Eagles safety Brian Dawkins embraced Barber and told him, "You're a warrior."

Barber's last official game as a Pro Bowler in his last season was the 2007 Pro Bowl in Hawaii on February 10, 2007.

Barber declared in October 2006 that he did not want to retire at the end of the 2006 NFL season. Barber had previously stated his intention to retire and pursue a television career at some point. Barber questioned why a player at the top of his game would retire, he said the physical appearance of football takes on a person's body, and that he "simply can't take it anymore." Tiki's decision to resign at his prime was strongly chastised. He has left the New York Giants on a two-year deal.

The Giants' team never won a championship during his tenure as a coach, a top Barber's aim that he spoke openly about in 2005. Barber appeared to be at ease in announcing his resignation without a Super Bowl ring. "I used to believe that my future was determined by not winning a Super Bowl," he said. But I suspect they'll see someone who was a competitor, someone who played hard and never gave up," when considering my career. On February 12, 2007, he officially filed his retirement papers with the Players Association.

The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLII in the very next NFL season after Barber's retirement. Barber was on hand to cover the game, but most of his former coworkers and fans were not happy with his inflammatory remarks about his former colleague and Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Barber filed a request to come out of retirement on March 8, 2011. Although the New York Giants retained the right to Barber, the Giants intended to release him only after the NFL and the NFLPA reached a collective bargaining agreement.

Barber said on April 28, 2011, that his return to the league was "not about the money;" however, the New York Post ran a contradictory news story in 2010, claiming that Barber was trying to return to the league because he was not financially stable. According to the story, he was unable to pay his divorce bill with his ex-wife.

Barber was officially deleted from the squad's active list on July 28, 2011, allowing him to choose any team. Barber first started working with the Miami Dolphins on August 2, 2011.

Barber's rep, Mark Lepselter, reported that no NFL team was interested in signing him on September 5, 2011.

NFL career statistics

Tiki Barber owned at least 22 Giants franchise records as of 2018, including: ''s, the first in 2009.'

Post-football career

Barber began his second career as a television broadcaster after retiring from football. Barber landed on NBC for a brief period of time, covered sports for NBC Sports, and produced entertainment for NBC Universal. On February 13, 2007, Barber was first introduced as a reporter and analyst for NBC's Today and Analyst for Football Night in America/Sunday Night Football. This came as a result of a competition for his services being waged between ABC, FOX, NFL, and NBC. Barber, a Today reporter, anchored lifestyle segments and news about news.

Barber is unusual among retired journalists in his desire to cover hard news and political events; in 2006, Barber cited a lunch with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the highlight of his year.

Barber acquired broadcasting experience while still a footballer. On television, he co-hosted Fox & Friends' morning news show on Fox & Friends on Tuesday mornings. On radio, he hosted Barber Shop, a weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio with his brother Ronde during the football season. Senator John McCain was his first interview in the offseason, and he produced a political and general interest radio show. Barber began his broadcasting career on WFAN radio and the WCBS local news in New York.

While Geist was on vacation, Barber filled Willie Geist on MSNBC's Morning Joe in May 2008.

Barber appeared on MSNBC in August 2008 and was a commentator for Yahoo! The 2010 Winter Olympics featured sports.

The New York Post announced on Wednesday that NBC has suspended him from his reporter's position on NBC's The Today Show, which was published on Wednesday. Barber's contract was not renewed by NBC until May 2010, and the network snuggishly let him go.

On the BBC's Super Bowl XLV coverage, Barber appeared as a studio pundit.

Barber, a radio host for WFAN with Brandon Tierney, appears on weekday afternoons airing 10-2 p.m. (EST), as of January 2022. On CBS Sports Radio, the two hosts had previously hosted a national show.

Barber, a regular judge on the Food Network show Iron Chef America, is a frequent judge, as well as the show Chopped.

On Project Runway, Barber appeared as a guest judge. On the Today Show, Barber wanted to make a dress shirt for use.

On NBC's show Celebrity Family Feud, Barber appeared with his family.

In the "Not My Job" section of the NPR news quiz, Barber appeared as the guest. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! In November 2008, the country's first lady was in charge of a child's education. On the occasion of Mickey Mouse's 80th birthday, he answered three questions about him.

On an episode of the Discovery Channel game show Cash Cab, Barber was the'mobile shoutout.' "What is the name of the famous John Steinbeck book that followed Tom Joad's travels?" asked the reporter. Both Barber and the contestant incorrectly answered Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, but the correct answer was The Grapes of Wrath.

Barber played a drill sergeant who was killed in the episode "Fight Knight" in 2008. His character was caught dressing down an unethical manner and was used by KITT to deter the owner of the illicit club long enough to prevent capture by Michael. At the end of the episode, KITT had him spoofed him.

Barber appears in many episodes as himself in The Electric Company's 2009 iteration. Both male and adolescents are raving over his "character" and being portrayed as a highly likable and forthright role model. Even in one episode, he finds himself in the role of a judge, investigating a case of pet cruelty against his bird.

Barber was one of the people hugged in Dave Matthews Band's 2001 album "Everyday."

In the Season 2 episode "It Was the Change" in Orange Is the New Black's 2014 episode "It Was the Change" (the 12th episode of the season) Barber appeared as himself in Orange Is the New Black's "It Was the Change" (1984).

Barber co-hosted season 2 of Ultimate Beastmaster with Chris Distefano and season 3 with CM Punk.

In Season 12 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Barber and his wife Traci appear.

Don in Kinky Boots made his Broadway debut in January 21, 2019, and the show was limited until March 3. "I was so fortunate to be a part of the New York Giants for ten years and am so proud to be joining another New York institution, Broadway," Barber said in a tweet.

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