Tiki Barber: Every team wants a guy like Richie Incognito

Tiki Barber said some teams need players with an edge like Richie Incognito.  (Bennett Raglin/Getty Images)

Former Giants running back Tiki Barber is known for his outspoken personality, and on Tuesday's edition of The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News channel, he weighed in on the Richie Incognito bullying issue.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a thug culture,” Barber said of NFL locker rooms. “It exists in some corners of the National Football League. And look, Richie Incognito is needed on some teams. They need that attitude.”

Barber, who works as a host on CBS Sports Radio, added that he wouldn't hire Incognito if he was running a team, but that "every team wants a guy like that."

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Barber's comments come after a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Dolphins coaches asked Incognito to "toughen up" Jonathan Martin after he missed two days of voluntary OTAs.

When O'Reilly again asked Barber, a three-time Pro Bowler who played 10 NFL seasons, about the league's "thug culture," Barber said that he's sure he played with former gang members who were able to escape that life because of pro football.

“I don’t know [how many], but I guarantee you I played with at least a couple, and they found their way out of that culture by being in the National Football League,” Barber said. “It was their vehicle to get out of wherever they were."

The complete segment can be viewed here.

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