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New emails suggest Manning didn't plan to provide fake game-used memorabilia

Jeff Hanisch / USA TODAY Sports

A series of emails released in court Wednesday suggest New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and equipment manager Joe Skiba did not plan to fraudulently represent fake memorabilia as authentic items.

Manning is being sued by Steiner Sports for allegedly supplying the company with jerseys and equipment advertised as game-worn, when the items had never been used.

The quarterback's attorneys claimed Saturday that the plaintiffs omitted "relevant evidence" and "cherry-picked" select emails to make it appear as if Manning indulged in fraudulent behavior.

The plaintiffs are alleging that Manning provided a helmet from Super Bowl XLVI and purchased another helmet off a secondary source, believing that it was game-worn during the 2007 season.

"Did you put my helmet somewhere?" Manning wrote in a 2012 email to Skiba after Super Bowl XLVI, obtained by ESPN's Darren Rovell and Jordan Raanan. "It was not in my locker. If you could hold on to it and my spare one as well, that would be great."

Manning's attorneys wrote two statements strongly denying the Giants star provided Steiner Sports with fraudulent merchandise.

"The Manning defendants produced all of their documents concerning Mr. Manning's equipment that he provided to Steiner Sports for the simple reason that they have nothing to hide and vehemently deny that they ever provided Steiner Sports with equipment they did not believe was game-used," Manning's attorneys wrote.

It is inconceivable that Mr. Manning would provide Steiner Sports with game-used jerseys from his personal collection, which hold sentimental value to him, and yet engage in a scheme to provide Steiner Sports with fake game-used helmets. Moreover, all of the emails produced by Manning defendants confirm his practice of retrieving actual game-used helmets from the Giants' equipment staff in order to comply with his Steiner Sports obligations."

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