Quarterbacks are known for being control freaks. They crave repetition in their preparation process. They spend hours on tape memorizing where receivers are going to be on routes. They even obsess over the way footballs are supposed to feel (I see you, Tom Brady).
For Eli Manning, that need for control extends, apparently, to the equipment the longtime New York Giants quarterback puts on before he steps onto the field.
Manning has found himself in a memorabilia controversy after the New York Post reported a potentially incriminating email from Manning to a Giants equipment manager that asked for two helmets that could be passed off as “game used.”
Manning and the Giants are being sued by three memorabilia collectors claiming the Giants gave equipment that could be sold as game-worn.
The lawsuit alleges the email proves Manning knowingly defrauded the collectors.
“2 helmets that can pass off as game used. That’s it,” Manning wrote in an email to equipment manager Joe Skiba on April 27, 2010.
The Giants released a statement accusing the plaintiffs of taking the email out of context and “who for years has been seeking to leverage a big pay day.”
The following statement was released on behalf of the NY Giants… pic.twitter.com/BfMHEBcu7V
— New York Giants (@Giants) April 13, 2017
The court case is scheduled to begin Sept. 25.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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