No matter how hard you try to separate facts from feelings, certain situations in life intertwine the two. 

The New York Giants and Saquon Barkley have been at a contractual impasse for some time, but things have remained cordial from the outside looking in. 

But during a press conference at a youth football camp hosted by Barkley, the star running back could no longer bite his tongue:

First reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Barkley will not be attending mandatory minicamp this week as the Giants look to put a bow on offseason activities before returning for training camp in late July.

This comes as no surprise considering Barkley's not allowed to be a part of anything with the Giants until he signs his franchise tag. What was surprising is what Barkley would say next:

"I never thought it would have to be this difficult, but I got tagged," Barkley told reporters after hosting his youth football camp. "There's a lot of stuff that I can go into, but I feel like that, you know, we say, 'Family business is family business' and I'm gonna stick to that. It's a business; they can do what they want to do."

Barkley seemingly threw chum into the water when saying "There's a lot of stuff I can get into" and before any of the reporters on site could even capitalize, he himself let us into what's been bothering him:

"The thing that I'm frustrated most about is, like how I said, family business is family business, and then stories get leaked, and they didn't come from me," said Barkley. "I felt like they were trying to paint a narrative of me that's not even close to being the truth. I've come out and said I wanna be a Giant for life. I said that I'm not trying to reset the running back market. So, for those reports that come out and try to make me look greedy, that's not even close to being the truth."

The reports that Barkley is referring to come from Paul Schwartz of The New York Post, who reported that Barkley turned down deals ranging in the $12.5-$13 million dollar range both during the season in 2022, and then again before the franchise tag deadline this offseason. 

A classic example of "he said, she said" someone here is obviously bending the truth to say the least, and judging by what Barkley had to say next, something tell's me it isn't him:

"At the end of the day, I would like to address that I feel like there have been some things out there that's been misleading," Barkley said. "The stories have been out there. But I've been open. I said I wanna be a Giant for life, that this is where I want to be. And at the end of the day, it's all about respect."

It almost seems as if Barkely is no longer fighting for a bigger paycheck, rather he's fighting for the dignity that he deserves. The native New Yorker has every right to feel dismayed if the propaganda leaking from the Giants facility is false. And while recent events in the world of sports have proved that everyone has a price (I see you PGA Tour) Barkley's may have just gotten even higher:

"That's a card I could play, Barkley said in regards to him sitting out the 2023 season if the Giants don't bring enough to the table by the July 17th franchise tag deadline. "We got a little bit of time in between there. When that date comes up, I'll have to sit down with my team and my family and make decisions."

So maybe this was Barkley just wanting to clear the air, absolving himself from any of the circulating rumors about his want of more money. But following what felt like obvious shots at the Giants front office, perhaps Saquon is no longer feeling the warmth of the "family business."

From the Giants P.O.V, they likely think Barley is just playing hard to get, using his platform to shift the narrative.

Either way, the two sides would probably both do best to get away from the negotion table and remember the famous line from one of America's most storied films:

"It's not personal, it's strictly business." -Michael Corleone, The Godfather

Featured image via: © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports