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Tiki Barber Fumbles An Awkward Anne Frank Comparison
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 26, 2011
Modified May 26, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 26, 2011
Modified May 26, 2011
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In a boneheaded move to rival all his other boneheaded moves, former Giants star running back Tiki Barber made an incredibly ill-advised analogy between himself and Anne Frank in an interview in the latest Sports Illustrated. In it, he discussed the fallout from his new relationship with Traci Johnson, and moving into the house of his agent, where he said they were hiding out in his attic. "Lep’s Jewish, and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing," he said.
Of course, only the most dedicated of Anne Frank scholars knows that Frank was hiding out from Nazis because she too had dumped her eight-months-pregnant wife for a 23-year-old former NBC intern. Here's the entire excerpt the quote comes from:
Barber and Johnson went into hiding in the attic of Lepselter’s house in New Jersey. “Lep’s Jewish,” says Barber, “and it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing.” (Here is Barber writ small: He has the wit and smarts to make an Anne Frank allusion and the artlessness to liken himself—an adulterer trying to elude gossip columnists—to a Holocaust victim.)
MSNBC sounds bemusedly horrified: "Yowza. Not so sure about the smarts, however." The Post calls it "despicable," and credits him with his "gift for saying exactly the wrong thing almost every time he opens his mouth." Deadspin asks the really tough questions though: "who are the reverse Nazis?" (History buffs know them as the cuddly, fun-loving Sizan army.)
Back in March, after the scandal had broke, he had lost his NBC job, was barred from his babies' birth, and was sued by cycling fitness chain Flywheel Sports, Barber announced that he was planning to unretire from the NFL. He credited his new girlfriend with inspiring him to start playing again; Johnson added, "It was tough for him to just be motivated to get dressed and do something productive with his life, instead of just sitting home with the puppies." We wonder if Anne Frank had as tough a time getting motivated when she was just sitting in her attic, playing with her puppies.
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anne frank
bad analogies
football
giants
nfl
tiki barber
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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