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The Joe Skiba fake jersey controversy grows, Jacobs is angry

SimpleMan : 4/12/2017 5:44 pm
If anyone follows Brandon Jacobs on Instagram you may have seen some of his recent posts. We all heard a couple of years ago that Eli and Joe Skiba allegedly were selling fake game-worn jerseys.

Now Jacobs is claiming that Skiba stole his (Jacobs) jerseys including Super Bowl jerseys and sold them, and then gave Jacobs fake jerseys of his own jersey. Jacobs said he has known this for a few years but just recently got some more info on it.

Heres some of his quotes I pulled off Instagram where he is commenting with people on his posts:

Quote:
nyg.td.record27All these memories wiped away when that asshole decided to sell my super bowl stuff and give me a fake one. You guys would be surprised at the shit that has happened. No loyalty to the ones who put blood on the field. This has changed a lot for me and for the higher ups to defend this shit is even more absurd. I'll get my super bowl shit back alone with my TD balls and the other 15 jerseys of mine that they sold.


Quote:
I've been know for a few years now but I've been trying to get it back and just finding out more info


Quote:
the top is defending the managers making money for themselves


Quote:
nope it was sold by the equipment manager of the Giants. They trying to say this guy stole it.


Quote:
always had respect for them guys but now after this fuck em


Quote:
nyg.td.record27SMH, even they screw the ones who put blood on the field. #fakegameworn #realonesoldbythem. Ill get my shit back, you better believe it.


If this is true, along with IF the previous accusations against Skiba are true, how does this guy still have a job?
Do players own their own jerseys?  
adamg : 4/12/2017 5:53 pm : link
How does that work?
Because his father....  
ThatLimerickGuy : 4/12/2017 5:54 pm : link
Ed Skiba, was the Giants equipment manager before him, and Joe's son will one day be the next one.

Giants are nothing else if not loyal.

Scumbag thing to do IMO. If it turns out that Eli had something to do with this I'll lose a lot of respect for him actually.
Yikes  
rdt288 : 4/12/2017 5:54 pm : link
Who knows what each side will claim but this is a true giant VS how high skiba is regarded within the organization.
RE: Do players own their own jerseys?  
armstead98 : 4/12/2017 5:55 pm : link
In comment 13425681 adamg said:
Quote:
How does that work?


Not sure but Skiba certainly doesn't own them.
How is Eli involved?  
Capt. Don : 4/12/2017 6:03 pm : link
First I heard of it.
RE: How is Eli involved?  
Devon : 4/12/2017 6:05 pm : link
In comment 13425695 Capt. Don said:
Quote:
First I heard of it.


He, allegedly, knew what Skiba was doing and would have Skiba doctor fakes to sell, so he could keep the originals.
RE: Because his father....  
81_Great_Dane : 4/12/2017 6:05 pm : link
In comment 13425682 ThatLimerickGuy said:
Quote:
Ed Skiba, was the Giants equipment manager before him, and Joe's son will one day be the next one.

If it's true he stole and sold Super Bowl memorabilia, he's squandered that legacy. The league, the Giants and the players affected will come down on him with the legal equivalent of hellfire. He'll never again get access to an NFL locker room, ever.

Quote:
Giants are nothing else if not loyal.
To a fault. Always have been. But this would cross a bunch of lines.

Quote:
Scumbag thing to do IMO. If it turns out that Eli had something to do with this I'll lose a lot of respect for him actually.
I agree 100%.
RE: RE: How is Eli involved?  
David in LA : 4/12/2017 6:09 pm : link
In comment 13425700 Devon said:
Quote:
In comment 13425695 Capt. Don said:


Quote:


First I heard of it.



He, allegedly, knew what Skiba was doing and would have Skiba doctor fakes to sell, so he could keep the originals.


Yikes, hope this isn't true.
Heres a link  
SimpleMan : 4/12/2017 6:17 pm : link
from a few years ago when this story first surfaced.
Article - ( New Window )
This whole game used jersey  
Matt in SGS : 4/12/2017 6:40 pm : link
world is one of those kind of side business / dark alley things which has likely gone on forever, but with the money involved now, is getting much greater scrutiny. I remember Byron Hunt telling me years back that the Giants used to go to a cleaner in Rutherford for many years with their uniforms and he said he never thought much of it when they would get their old stuff back.
Hell hath no fury...  
kinard : 4/12/2017 6:45 pm : link
... like a pissed off Brandon Jacobs

He'll take no prisoners and won't let this die easy.
Curious  
Bramton1 : 4/12/2017 7:49 pm : link
Quote:
always had respect for them guys but now after this fuck em


Is he referring to the equipment guys... or the Giants?
Wow, this is a really bad look if what Jacobs is saying is true.  
arcarsenal : 4/12/2017 7:52 pm : link
.
It would be very hard to believe that Eli is involved in this  
Ten Ton Hammer : 4/12/2017 8:00 pm : link
It is not so hard to believe that equipment managers can be.

What's the upside to Eli doesn't this? He's not looking for ways to get paid.

It makes more sense for an equipment manager. Not the guy making 19 or 20m a year.
wait... Eli is knowingly involved in this scam?  
SHO'NUFF : 4/12/2017 8:02 pm : link
that jerk! LOL
...  
christian : 4/12/2017 8:34 pm : link
It's a very serious fraud allegation, which has now come up twice. If this is true, he could very well end up in prison.
RE: ...  
dpinzow : 4/12/2017 9:01 pm : link
In comment 13425919 christian said:
Quote:
It's a very serious fraud allegation, which has now come up twice. If this is true, he could very well end up in prison.


Yeah, this is a criminal fraud allegation and a felony offense/offenses if it happened
What was Eli's Contract, $100,000,000?  
TC : 4/12/2017 9:28 pm : link
Yeah, I can see him needing to sell bogus jerseys!
RE: Because his father....  
Bobby Humphrey's Earpad : 4/12/2017 9:32 pm : link
In comment 13425682 ThatLimerickGuy said:
Quote:
Ed Skiba, was the Giants equipment manager before him, and Joe's son will one day be the next one.

Giants are nothing else if not loyal.


This is incorrect. Ed Skiba Sr. was never affiliated with the Giants. You are confusing him with his son Ed Jr., who along with Joe have both been on the Giants equipment staff for years.
RE: What was Eli's Contract, $100,000,000?  
spike : 4/12/2017 9:34 pm : link
In comment 13426029 TC said:
Quote:
Yeah, I can see him needing to sell bogus jerseys!


He has an expensive lifestyle to upkeep

nypost  
spike : 4/12/2017 9:35 pm : link
"Michael Strahan helped the Giants upset the undefeated New England Patriots in 2008’s Super Bowl XLII – the last game of his 15-year career – and the team rewarded his blistering defensive play by giving him a bogus jersey from the big game, according to court documents filed Thursday in New Jersey Superior Court.

The court papers filed by attorney Brian C. Brook, who represents three men who claim Eli Manning and the Giants sold fraudulent jerseys, helmets and other memorabilia to fans and trading card companies, claims clubhouse attendant Edward Skiba sold Strahan’s Super Bowl jersey to plaintiff Eric Inselberg shortly after the game. The club gave Strahan, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, a bogus jersey."
Strahan a victim too - ( New Window )
RE: What was Eli's Contract, $100,000,000?  
KeoweeFan : 4/12/2017 9:46 pm : link
In comment 13426029 TC said:
Quote:
Yeah, I can see him needing to sell bogus jerseys!

Let's assume we are not talking about Eli. I have the same respect for him that you do.
But the reality is that rich folks are not immune from being attracted to a chance to make an extra dollar.
RE: RE: Because his father....  
Bleedin Blue : 4/12/2017 10:35 pm : link
In comment 13426034 Bobby Humphrey's Earpad said:
Quote:
In comment 13425682 ThatLimerickGuy said:


Quote:


Ed Skiba, was the Giants equipment manager before him, and Joe's son will one day be the next one.

Giants are nothing else if not loyal.



This is incorrect. Ed Skiba Sr. was never affiliated with the Giants. You are confusing him with his son Ed Jr., who along with Joe have both been on the Giants equipment staff for years.


You're correct, the Wagner family were the equipment managers for years.
.  
arcarsenal : 4/12/2017 10:38 pm : link
I really hope Eli wasn't involved in this.
The Skibas and Inselberg  
BBelle21 : 4/12/2017 10:47 pm : link
come across as the shadiest parties when you read all the court reports. Eli being involved in any of this is completely ridiculous. His own lawyers counter punched as did the Giants. A lot of claims have already been thrown out. And Inselberg tried to get the Giants to pay his attorney fees and the judges said no.
I follow Brandon on Twitter  
BBelle21 : 4/12/2017 10:57 pm : link
And that conversation about his stuff getting stolen, Michael Strahan and Shaun O'Hara joined in and both said they haven't had anything stolen. Strahan tweeted : "I have every piece of my uniform from the Super Bowl!! Thievery is insane" So not sure what to make of that Post story about Michael.
Eric Inselberg  
Pete in MD : 4/12/2017 10:59 pm : link
seems to also be involved in a ongoing patent infringement lawsuit, per Google.
...  
Pete in MD : 4/12/2017 11:01 pm : link
unrelated to the Giants or sports memorabilia.
RE: I follow Brandon on Twitter  
adamg : 4/12/2017 11:04 pm : link
In comment 13426239 BBelle21 said:
Quote:
And that conversation about his stuff getting stolen, Michael Strahan and Shaun O'Hara joined in and both said they haven't had anything stolen. Strahan tweeted : "I have every piece of my uniform from the Super Bowl!! Thievery is insane" So not sure what to make of that Post story about Michael.


If you look at the quote posted here (that's all I looked at), it doesn't specify who is suing the Giants. It mentions Strahan as a victim, but doesn't say Strahan is the one suing the team. So, I imagine Strahan isn't involved at all. Clickbait...
I would be devastated as a fan  
PaulBlakeTSU : 4/12/2017 11:12 pm : link
if Eli did this. He is on the shortlist of my absolute favorite athletes of teams I support.
RE: RE: What was Eli's Contract, $100,000,000?  
TC : 4/13/2017 12:04 am : link
In comment 13426077 KeoweeFan said:
Quote:
In comment 13426029 TC said:


Quote:


Yeah, I can see him needing to sell bogus jerseys!


Let's assume we are not talking about Eli. I have the same respect for him that you do.
But the reality is that rich folks are not immune from being attracted to a chance to make an extra dollar.

I'm sure you're right, what's a hundred million when there are a couple of C-notes in it for him.
The memorabilia industry is a garbage fire  
Gary from The East End : Admin : 4/13/2017 12:39 am : link
It's all con men and rubes. Unless you personally witnessed the item you have being signed or worn, there's a high probability that it's bogus.
RE: I would be devastated as a fan  
Milton : 4/13/2017 12:43 am : link
In comment 13426260 PaulBlakeTSU said:
Quote:
if Eli did this. He is on the shortlist of my absolute favorite athletes of teams I support.
Understood. But it's also easy to see how Eli (or anyone) could look at this as a "no harm, no foul" situation: he gets to keep something of sentimental value and a fan/collector gets a piece of memorabilia. As long as the jersey has the "official" stamp he is none the wiser. And Skiba or whoever gets to make some extra money. Everyone is a winner. Until their cover is blown. It's wrong of Eli, but it's an easy trap to fall into.

There was a Columbo episode with a similar dynamic, but instead of a Super Bowl jersey, it's a duplicate gun that a retired war hero gives to a museum rather than the actual gun which had too much sentimental value for him to give up.

Columbo--Dead Weight - ( New Window )
I hope Eli isn't involved in  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 4/13/2017 6:15 am : link
any manner. It'd be a total letdown.
First off, I seriously doubt Eli is involved  
David B. : 4/13/2017 8:54 am : link
I just doesn't sound anything like him. He's notorious for always doing the right thing. I doubt he'd even stay silent if he knew it was happening.

The rest, sure, I could see an equipment guy being tempted by dollar signs.

But there's too many questions here.

Where's the proof? How does Jacobs what he has are fakes? Or what others have are real?

Skiba IS in the position of being able to create exact replica jerseys, but if I'm Skiba doing this, I'd be selling the fan the fake jersey. It would be MUCH harder to fool the player who actually wore the jersey. OR, I'd just tell the player his jersey was stolen and plead ignorance.

Jacobs has always been kind of a hot-head, too. Has anyone else from those teams claimed anything similar?

It is actually a pretty common practice among the equipment managers.  
FatMan in Charlotte : 4/13/2017 9:29 am : link
to supplement their income with working with memorabilia dealers. But normally, they get in extra jerseys and sell them as replicas, not game-worn.

The Carolina Panthers equipment guy, Jackie Miles has a side business selling jerseys and helmets to restaurants and bars in the area, and I'm pretty sure the team knows about it and looks away.

Not sure why Skiba would need a player or a guy like Eli to assist though.
Iam close with Kevin Ogeltree  
BIG FRED 1973 : 4/13/2017 9:32 am : link
In 2009 on draft day I told him all I want is a jersey of the team you play for that’s it .Well he signed with Dallas and that killed that idea lol anyway he went to Tampa and Detroit and I didn’t take the jersey as I had a feeling one day he would be a Giant because the Giants always liked him anyway in 2014 when cruz got hurt he signed with us so he said he would get me his game used jersey so after one of the games he gave me his jersey but he had it hidden in his bag because he said he had to sneak it out of the locker room because the Giants were very strict on players giving away game used stuff especially jerseys,I found that very odd

I find it very hard to believe  
bigblue1124 : 4/13/2017 9:39 am : link
Eli would have anything to do with this practice.


We are talking about a guy who has made over 100 million dollars and he’s going to risk his reputation on peanut’s? It’s not like a game worn jersey sells for 10’s of thousands of dollars were talking a grand maybe more if someone is stupid enough to pay that much.

Now Skiba on the other hand I would not be surprised if proven. I personally can’t stand the guy and seems like a little rat to me but that’s my opinion. With that said it’s not like he or any other equipment manager make a huge salary doing what they do. I believe the average salary in the NFL is 90 to 100 grand per year. So if I were to guess he is making his own bonus structure rather than Mara and Tisch.

I cannot fathom Eli being in any way shape or form involved with Skiba other than Eli handing him his used jock for washing at the end of the game.
RE: I find it very hard to believe  
Britt in VA : 4/13/2017 9:44 am : link
In comment 13426431 bigblue1124 said:
Quote:
Eli would have anything to do with this practice.


We are talking about a guy who has made over 100 million dollars and he’s going to risk his reputation on peanut’s? It’s not like a game worn jersey sells for 10’s of thousands of dollars were talking a grand maybe more if someone is stupid enough to pay that much.

Now Skiba on the other hand I would not be surprised if proven. I personally can’t stand the guy and seems like a little rat to me but that’s my opinion. With that said it’s not like he or any other equipment manager make a huge salary doing what they do. I believe the average salary in the NFL is 90 to 100 grand per year. So if I were to guess he is making his own bonus structure rather than Mara and Tisch.

I cannot fathom Eli being in any way shape or form involved with Skiba other than Eli handing him his used jock for washing at the end of the game.


The real deal is worth quite more than a grand. Tom Brady's Superbowl jersey that was just stolen was estimated at half a million.

Eli Manning game worn jerseys and helmets have sold for $5000-10,000. It's not peanuts.

That said, I couldn't see Eli more involved than just saying "do whatever you have to do so I can keep my jersey", which I guess loosely is guilt by association or knowledge. I seriously doubt he's doing it for any monetary gain. He just wants to keep his stuff, which is understandable.
That Eric Inselberg guy is skeevy as shit, though...  
Britt in VA : 4/13/2017 9:54 am : link
he had an association with a few other guys that were around in Jersey, who were investigated by the Feds and actually served prison time for taking game "issued" jerseys, doctoring them, and selling them to trading card companies as worn.

Quote:
Inselberg was one of six memorabilia dealers who were charged with fraud in 2011; prosecutors say the men sold hundreds of bogus game-used jerseys to trading card companies and other buyers. The charges stemmed from a six-year investigation into fraud in the sports industry conducted by the Chicago FBI and other federal agencies.


He got out of it by proving that then Giants equipment man Ed Wagner sold him some Giants game used items, after Wagner told the FBI he hadn't (Wagner had previously been disciplined by Giants management for selling game used stuff). So the charges against Inselberg were dropped, not because he was innocent, but because Ed Wagner lied.

Just skeevy all around.

I had collected game worn stuff in the late 90's, early part of 2000's, up until about 2005 or so. It was still a friendly community at that time, and it was before the prices skyrocketed.

I started following this whole thing way back then, and didn't like what I saw, so I got out of the hobby and sold off my stuff.

But that Inselberg guy is a con man who should have served time for his role.

Link - ( New Window )
Tbh, doubt Eli even cares about keeping any of this stuff.  
BBelle21 : 4/13/2017 10:16 am : link
And if he did, he would just simply say no, this isn't for sale. Also don't see him having any problem with donating pieces for posterity or whatever. His first TD football to Shockey, he could care less. His 300th TD football, everyone thought he'd want that but he just gave it to Roger Lewis Jr.

Inselberg is oily. No coincidence he waited for SB 48 to release these frivolous allegations. Eli being involved is just far fetched. What's he going to do with the items? Hide them away forever? Not Eli. And when his lawyers hit back, we didn't hear much on that front again.

I love Eli. He's my all time favorite athlete so I guess I'm very bias, but Inselberg comes across as completely untrustworthy.
RE: RE: I would be devastated as a fan  
Milton : 4/13/2017 10:26 am : link
In comment 13426300 Milton said:
Quote:
But it's also easy to see how Eli (or anyone) could look at this as a "no harm, no foul" situation: he gets to keep something of sentimental value and a fan/collector gets a piece of memorabilia. As long as the jersey has the "official" stamp he is none the wiser. And Skiba or whoever gets to make some extra money. Everyone is a winner. Until their cover is blown. It's wrong of Eli, but it's an easy trap to fall into.
Btw--this was just a hypothetical I was presenting, I have no opinion on whether or not Eli is guilty of anything. I know none of the facts.
Miton  
PaulBlakeTSU : 4/13/2017 10:28 am : link
I don't accept that hypothetical, though. If Eli knew that the regular jerseys were then being passed on as game-worn, then he's complicit in the fraud. He knows that "game worn" fetches a higher price tag and value and he's helping Skiba rip off a fan.
A few  
mitch300 : 4/13/2017 10:28 am : link
years ago I went to the baseball hall of fame and there was a display of Joe Torre's Jersey he supposedly wore during the world series( forgot which year). I pointed out that the Yankees did not have the Russell logo on there jerseys. They took down my email address and sure enough I got an email saying that I was correct and they removed it from the display. So even the baseball hall of fame gets duped.
RE: Miton  
Milton : 4/13/2017 10:42 am : link
In comment 13426506 PaulBlakeTSU said:
Quote:
I don't accept that hypothetical, though. If Eli knew that the regular jerseys were then being passed on as game-worn, then he's complicit in the fraud. He knows that "game worn" fetches a higher price tag and value and he's helping Skiba rip off a fan.
True, but if nobody knows but him and Skiba, does it really matter? It's not like he gave him a fake pacemaker.
This would really, really suck if true  
jcn56 : 4/13/2017 10:50 am : link
but I could never understand the obsession with game worn/used merchandise anyway.

These things fetch big bucks, and people buy them in many cases with the hopes that they'll appreciate in value. And what do they pin those hopes on? The honesty of the people selling them. As if somehow, a little sticker that says 'verified' somehow really guarantees you anything.

Not giving these guys a pass in any way, but people really should stop buying these products as if they were investment vehicles. Decorations, fine. Anything more than that, think twice.
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