Eli Manning & Giants In Trouble For Running Fake ‘Game Worn’ Gear Scam

Eli Manning and other members of the New York Giants staff are named in a lawsuit that says they ran a fake 'game worn' gear scam. One of the pieces of equipment that is supposedly a part of this scam is a helmet that is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

From the NY Post:

A helmet on display in the hallowed Canton, Ohio, gridiron museum — supposedly worn by Manning in Big Blue’s 2008 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots — is just one of dozens of fake items the football superstar and his Giants cohorts have created to fool fans and make money from collectors over the years, the lawsuit alleges.

Other “forgeries” passed off on collectors include several Manning jerseys, two 2012 Super Bowl helmets and a 2004 “rookie season” helmet, according to court papers.

You may ask yourself how someone would find out about this scam.

The memorabilia ruse is so common among Giants players and staffers, the documents claim, that team equipment manager Joe Skiba openly discussed Manning’s fake game gear on an official Giants e-mail account.

Whether this is a legitimate claim isn't known yet. It is indeed a hefty claim though.

A rep for the Giants on Thursday said, “This suit is completely without any merit whatsoever and we will defend it vigorously. We will not otherwise comment on pending litigation.”

If this is true, it's pretty saddening that not only would someone do this, but a hometown New Orleans boy like Eli would be involved.