Tiki Barber Defends New York Giants Ownership: ‘I Know They’re Not a Racist Organization’

A former NFL player came out in defense of New York Giants’ football team owners involved in the recent Brian Flores lawsuit by stating, “I don’t believe they’re racists.”

According to TMZ, former New York Giants player Tiki Barber countered claims of racism that the former head coach stated in the discrimination lawsuit filed against the NFL this week.

Based on a report from NFL.com, Flores, who is Black, has sued the NFL and three teams, the Miami Dolphins, the Denver Broncos, and the New York Giants, alleging discrimination based on his firing from Miami. He also took aim at the interview process he went through with Denver and New York, alleging that the process is rife with racism.

On Wednesday, the Tiki & Tierney’s sports talk show co-host discussed the lawsuit and immediately defended his former employers against Flores’ charges leveled against them.

While fighting back tears, the former football player said, “I know Giants ownership intimately. So when I say I don’t believe they’re racists, it’s because I know they’re not. Yeah, maybe they don’t have the right head coach — the Black head coach. They don’t have a Black general manager, or a Black coordinator, right? I know they’re not a racist organization.”

Tiki shares his heartfelt story about Wellington Mara: pic.twitter.com/JoQR7j2I33

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) February 2, 2022

In Flores’ lawsuit, he accuses the NFL team of holding a “sham interview” to satisfy the requirements of the “Rooney Rules.” That rule stipulates that an NFL team has to interview at least two Black people for an open head coach position.

“Flores had to give an extensive interview for a job that he already knew he would not get — an interview that was held for no reason other than for the Giants to demonstrate falsely to the league commissioner Roger Goodell and the public at large that it was in compliance with the Rooney Rule,” the suit alleges.

The New York Giants organization responded to the allegations made by Flores:

“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll,” the Giants said in a written statement. “We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”