Two newspapers report Tiki Barber's denials

Only two newspapers reported about the Tiki Barber "Total Medal Count" affair. They are Newsday (headline: Tiki Barber denies he called co-host a bad word) and the New York Daily News (headline: Viewers unsure if ex-Giant Tiki Barber really said 'count,' on MSNBC broadcast).

Newsday reports that the video that was all over the Internet yesterday was nine days old. The newspaper reported:

At one point Barber turned to (co-host Jenna) Wolfe and said, "You're a total medal --."
To many ears, it sounded like an offensive word usually aimed at women.

Barber, through an MSNBC spokeswoman, told Newsday, "I would never disrespect a colleague and friend with that kind of language."
The Daily News, which had three reporters on the story, reported:

Although the word can be heard quite clearly, MSNBC spokeswoman Alana Russo flat-out denied Barber used the word.
"The idea of Tiki dropping the C-bomb any time, let alone on the air, is ridiculous. He's the most polite, gentlemanly person ever," she said.
"They were having a friendly argument about total medal counts versus gold medal counts and Tiki just garbled his words."

The Daily News even interviewed Greg Zahariadis, a Long Island college student, who was one of the two people who posted the video on YouTube. Zahariadis told the newspaper, "I saw it happen - I couldn't believe it."