NY Post- 'Proof Eli Manning Was in on Memorabilia Scheme'

In comment 13428411 PaulBlakeTSU said:

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colloquially, "pass as" becomes a contronym. It's not denial to be aware of that. I'm aware of how bad this would be for Eli and why it's bad, but without more corroborating evidence implicating him, whose reputation has been above reproach, I'll reserve judgment.

Well said. There's no athlete I root for in any sport that deserves the benefit of the doubt more than him. First off, there's just no incentive for him to do this. Secondly, the way I see it is, worst case scenario, he didn't really give a shit about any of this, and maybe his intent was to get Skibba to sell anything used. Practice. In Game. Whatever. It maybe was innocent enough as he might not have seen it as a huge distinction.

But again, that's the worst case scenario. There's no way I think he'd deliberately scheme anything.

In comment 13428566 Mike in Long Beach said:

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In comment 13428411 PaulBlakeTSU said: Quote: colloquially, "pass as" becomes a contronym. It's not denial to be aware of that. I'm aware of how bad this would be for Eli and why it's bad, but without more corroborating evidence implicating him, whose reputation has been above reproach, I'll reserve judgment. Well said. There's no athlete I root for in any sport that deserves the benefit of the doubt more than him. First off, there's just no incentive for him to do this. Secondly, the way I see it is, worst case scenario, he didn't really give a shit about any of this, and maybe his intent was to get Skibba to sell anything used. Practice. In Game. Whatever. It maybe was innocent enough as he might not have seen it as a huge distinction. But again, that's the worst case scenario. There's no way I think he'd deliberately scheme anything.

I don't know. Isn't it always the quiet ones?

So I'm sorry if I jumped the gun. But this is from a MOD over on the official Giants MB. He attends practices and is pretty close to the team. Here is what he wrote over there:


Quote Originally Posted by YATittle1962 View Post
I'm going to explain to all of you one time what is going on here

Eli did nothing wrong

Eli Manning has a deal with Steiner Sports to produce a certain amount of "game worn" equipment per year

this amount that he is under contract to produce is ridiculous ... simply impossible to produce the amount to "game used" equipment within a 16 game season

so what these players do ... all of them ... they wear multiple helmets ... jerseys ... gloves ... socks .... cleats ... etc ... every singe game

sometimes they will wear these things for only warm ups and legally that is "game worn"

now, what happened here is some of the high end collectors that were receiving this equipment were complaining that the equipment looked brand new and were claiming it was fake

Eli was contacting the equipment staff for more beat up equipment to make these high end collectors happy... he thought he was helping actually

it was not fake ... it just was not used in heavy contact

all the items given by Eli were used under conditions contractually sufficient ... he wore them in uniform on game day ... that is all that needs to happen for it to be sold as "game used"

some of these guys are complaining that they got practice helmets because they claimed it had no communication device

first of all ... practice helmets have communication devices

and second they are not going to leave the device in for the sale

Eli did absolutely nothing wrong and this case is completely bogus

believe what you will

all I can offer i the truth

have a great day


Link: http://boards.giants.com/showthread.php?80886-Eli-s-legacy/page2

The term "game used" is the key. If he wears it, technically it can be sold as game used, legally. That's it.

OTAs are next week, right? Hope Eli goes nuclear on his critics for the first time in his life. He got mildly pissed when things were leaked about contract negotiations - I can only imagine how he feels about this.

Exactly right. It makes sense a ton of sense. I don't see why thinking critically rubs some the wrong way. Logic dictated that none of this made any sense, especially about Eli.

if he asked Skiba for new stuff that could be "passed off" as used, but when he's asking if something could "pass as" game worn, it jibes with the main complaint some collectors have - that the items aren't "used" enough.

And that sort of falls in line with the post above. Some of these collectors are probably looking for grass stains, nicks, sweat, etc. and if something looks new, it isn't worth as much (I don't get it, but it is what it is).

That's what I took the "pass as" to mean from the beginning.

I wouldn't piss on this guy if he were on fire.

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Gov. Chris Christie ripped into "the liar Eli Manning" and the New York Giants during a radio appearance Friday morning, a day after a report revealed Manning turned over a possibly incriminating email in a lawsuit alleging he was involved in a fake sports memorabilia scheme. "He got caught," Christie said of Manning, the Giants' quarterback, while guest-hosting the "Boomer & Carton" morning show on WFAN 660-AM in New York City. The New Jerswy governor also compared Manning to his older brother, legendary former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. "Could you ever imagine Peyton being involved in this?" Christie asked. "No, definitely not. Peyton's smarter." The New York Post reported Thursday that the email was included in a court filing in Bergen County Superior Court in a three-year-old civil racketeering lawsuit filed by three collectors against Manning, the Giants, the team's equipment manager, team co-owner John Mara, and memorabilia company Steiner Sports. In the email, sent April 27, 2010, Manning asked Giants head equipment manager Joe Skiba for "two helmets that can pass as game used," according to the report. Manning had been asked by his marketing agent, Alan Zucker, to produce equipment under a memorabilia contract he had with Steiner Sports. One of the suit's plaintiffs said he paid $4,300 for a helmet said to be worn during the Giants' 2007 season that led to a Super Bowl victory. Now, the plaintiff claims, it's a "$4,000 paperweight." A trial is set to begin Sept. 25. Christie, a former U.S. attorney, said Friday that it's unlikely Manning would ever face criminal charges. But, he said, the issue "could affect the whole season." "The Giants participated in this as well, so John Mara's going to have to open the checkbook," the governor said. "Now there's all kinds of ramifications for the Giants as a brand. Are they a lying cheating franchise?" Christie -- who is famously a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, one of the Giants' rivals -- added that the Giants' involvement is "an open question." "I'm not saying that John Mara knew," he said. The Giants defended both Manning and the organization in a statement. "The email, taken out of context, was shared with the media by an unscrupulous memorabilia dealer and his counsel who for years has been seeking to leverage a big payday," McCarter & English, the law firm representing the Giants in the matter, said. "The email predates any litigation, and there was no legal obligation to store it on the Giants server. Eli Manning is well known for his integrity and this is just the latest misguided attempt to defame his character." Christie criticized that statement, likening it to a "politician's non-answer." "The email was taken out of context? The context? It looks like it's a pretty complete back and forth," the governor said. "And by the way, they presumably have possession of the emails," he added. "They represent Eli. So, if it's out of context, put it in context. Release the other things where Eli's like, 'Just joking.'" "Give a good statement or shut up," Christie added about the statement. Karen Kessler, a spokeswoman for McCarter & English, declined to comment on Christie's remarks when reached by NJ Advance Media on Friday.

Link - ( New Window )

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So I'm sorry if I jumped the gun. But this is from a MOD over on the official Giants MB. He attends practices and is pretty close to the team. Here is what he wrote over there: Quote Originally Posted by YATittle1962 View Post I'm going to explain to all of you one time what is going on here Eli did nothing wrong Eli Manning has a deal with Steiner Sports to produce a certain amount of "game worn" equipment per year this amount that he is under contract to produce is ridiculous ... simply impossible to produce the amount to "game used" equipment within a 16 game season

If it's impossible to produce so much game worn stuff then don't sign a contract to produce so much game worn stuff.

they broadened the definition of "game used" to include pre-game warm-up jerseys, helmets, etc. BECAUSE everyone acknowledges it's impossible otherwise, include the Steiners of the world.

Anyone who says "pass" doesn't necessarily mean "pass off" needs to ask themselves why Eli didn't just say "two game worn helmets." Why use pass at all?

Then there's this exchange between Joe Skiba (Giants equipment manager) and a friend of his:

"Friend: My buddy was offered an eli game used helmet and jersey. Are these the bs ones eli asked you to make up because he didn't want to give up the real stuff?"

Joe Skiba: BS ones, you are correct."

http://deadspin.com/eli-manning-asked-giants-equipment-manager-for-helmets-1794320043

Fraud is fraud, regardless of how loathsome the person being cheated or how unfair the contract is. I am not happy about it either. But remember, we pretend to know what Eli is about because we like the way he acts on the field, and the charity work he does. The truth is, we know very little about who he (or anyone else) really is.

is such a corrupt piece of shit. WFAN should be ashamed that they give him a platform.

In comment 13428179 an_idol_mind said:

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Plenty of wealthy, giving people do stupid shit like this for reasons I can't begin to explain. In Eli's case, it's possible that he wanted to keep the actual articles for himself and thus made a dumb decision.

Perhaps not a perfect defense, just a mountain of credibility in his favor as someone who's spent 12 years living and working under a microscope and maintained a reputation above reproach.

If that doesn't buy you some credibility, what does?

In comment 13428653 bluepepper said:

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Quote: So I'm sorry if I jumped the gun. But this is from a MOD over on the official Giants MB. He attends practices and is pretty close to the team. Here is what he wrote over there: Quote Originally Posted by YATittle1962 View Post I'm going to explain to all of you one time what is going on here Eli did nothing wrong Eli Manning has a deal with Steiner Sports to produce a certain amount of "game worn" equipment per year this amount that he is under contract to produce is ridiculous ... simply impossible to produce the amount to "game used" equipment within a 16 game season If it's impossible to produce so much game worn stuff then don't sign a contract to produce so much game worn stuff.

Exactly, I'm not sure if Eli is guilty or not. However, don't sign a contract that you feel is too hard to agree to.

is whether those dealings were part of the Steiner contract, or if Skiba does some private "business." That would explain some of Brandon Jacobs recent comments destroying Skiba and not Manning.

remind me of Pats fans discussing Spygate and Deflate Gate. I hope I'm wrong, but the email doesn't look good.