I typically don't comment on extramarital affairs, paternity matters, or who-was-seen-out-with-who-where-doing-what stuff. These things have little or nothing to do with sports and, I strongly feel, are none of my business. This Tiki thing is different.
You can't sell yourself in the marketplace as one thing but act like another thing in real life. Well, you can but nobody should buy it and if they do it should rightly be considered fraud. And, he who hath committed the fraud ought to pay the wages of his sins.
Tiki has always been about Tiki, despite his remonstrations to the contrary.
He played football for the Giants, assuming a leadership role and role model persona. But all the while, football was just a pretext for his post-athletic aspirations. He didn't really care for the game nor for his teammates or the even idea of team. In his surprise final season, he publicly placed his ill-timed midseason retirement notification ahead of his team's quest for a Super Bowl. On his way out the locker room door he threw his coach under the bus. To make a name for himself on day one as a media personality, he trashed his former teammates specifically citing Eli Manning's lack of leadership. In response, Manning, his old teammates and coach did what they could not do with Tiki among them, they won the Super Bowl. Tiki has been persona non grata at Giants stadium ever since.
But who needs local NYC-area sports fans when you've got plans to be a national voice on NBC, corresponding for The Today Show, the Olympics and more. Tiki wanted to let us know he had much to say on a range of issues both sports-related and not.
He wrote children's books. Positioned himself as a family man. His latest venture outside of media, Tiki Recreation, builds playgrounds for kids. On this for-profit venture's website under "MISSION" it states the Tiki's signature "Play Proud" playgrounds were inspired by his mother's messages to him to do his best, believe in himself and work hard to achieve his dreams. "Sadly," the site laments "in the world today such messages are not being heard by children."
"Such messages," huh. Tell me: Knowing what you know now, would you want your kid playing on a playground with Tiki?
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