NY Daily News on Gmen92 Manning helmet

[Eric]

NFL needs to adopt authentication program from baseball to prevent further memorabilia headaches

A New Jersey memorabilia dealer named Eric Inselberg filed an explosive lawsuit last month that claims Eli Manning and the Giants passed along counterfeit game-used helmets, jerseys and other items that were later sold to unsuspecting fans.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2014, 12:33 PM

Local sports memorabilia collector believes he was victimized after buying Eli Manning helmet.

The Long Island construction worker known as “GMen92” on Internet collectors forums hoped the Eli Manning helmet would be the centerpiece of his sports memorabilia collection and the jewel of his New York Giants-themed man cave. But GMen92 also knew he was taking a risk when he bought it for $4,300 from another Giants fan a few months ago.

The helmet, purportedly from the Giants’ 2007 Super Bowl season, did not have the Velcro patches for the receiver that Manning would use to communicate with his coaches. GMen92 bought the helmet anyway because it came with letters from Steiner Sports — one said the helmet had been used in a regular-season game, the others verified that the Giants star had inked the signature and inscription scrawled across the helmet.

The memorabilia industry may be rife with corruption and fraud, but Steiner Sports has enjoyed a good reputation with collectors — primarily due to the fact that they have exclusive memorabilia distribution deals with Manning and hundreds of other star athletes. Steiner may charge ridiculous prices, collectors say, but at least you knew you weren’t buying a store-bought jersey that had been pummeled with rocks to make it look game-used.

“If it came with a Steiner COA (certificate of approval), it was OK,” says GMen92.

GMen92’s faith in those Steiner certificates faded with every hour he spent scouring Giants game photos for his helmet with its distinctive scratches and nicks. “That should be a piece of cake to photo match,” says GMen92, who does not want to use his real name for this story because he doesn’t want to become known “as the guy who took down Eli.”

Then a New Jersey memorabilia dealer named Eric Inselberg filed an explosive lawsuit last month that claims Manning and the Giants passed along counterfeit game-used helmets, jerseys and other items that were later sold to unsuspecting fans. GMen92 now believes he was scammed.

“This is a fraud-ridden hobby,” says Inselberg’s attorney, Brian C. Brook, who also represents GMen92. “It is an industry screaming for regulation. Steiner made representations that this helmet is authentic. Did Steiner simply take Eli’s word that the helmet was game-used?”

The lawsuit — which says Steiner Sports resold helmets after eagle-eyed collectors returned them as fakes — has bruised the New Rochelle company’s reputation and made collectors wary of items offered through NFL Auctions and other sources of game-used gear. But Maryland certified public accountant and memorabilia collector Andrew Lang has a good idea: He says the league could restore collectors’ faith in its game-used memorabilia by taking a cue from Major League Baseball and copying the authentication program it instituted back in 2001.

The helmet purchased by the collector does not contain the Velcro patches for the QB's receiver.
“The MLB system works the way it should,” Lang says. “It is hard to believe the NFL hasn’t come up with a system like this.”

Here’s how the MLB program works: At least one authenticator, hired by an independent company called Authenticators Inc., attends every single game each season. The authenticators, who are always off-duty or retired law-enforcement officers who understand how to protect the chain of custody, put tamper-proof holograms on items they witness players autograph or use in games. The holograms include serial numbers that fans can use to look up the details about their memorabilia on MLB.com. Although the authenticators primarily handle balls, hats, bats and jerseys, anything from a game — such as a can of bug spray from Joba Chamberlain’s infamous “midge game” in 2007 — could wind up with a hologram.

Authentication of NFL memorabilia is a far more haphazard affair: PSA/DNA, for example, announced last month that it would mark more than 100 balls brought to the Super Bowl with an invisible synthetic DNA ink. But does that tell collectors if the ball was involved in the opening-play safety that set the tone for the Seahawks’ lopsided win — or was the ball sidelined for the entire game like the Broncos’ offense?

PSA/DNA did not return calls for comment, and the NFL declined to answer questions about authentication of its memorabilia.

But Lang believes reproducing MLB’s model is a no-brainer for the NFL. Baseball has already given the league a roadmap to follow, and although football teams have twice as many players, they also play far fewer games. Lang says the costs would be modest and would be offset by the extra revenue generated by increased collector confidence.

“It would bring reliability to NFL memorabilia,” Lang says.

GMen92 says the damage has already been done, even though Manning and the Giants have called Inselberg’s lawsuit “meritless” and vowed to fight it.

“It puts a sour taste in your mouth,” he says. “I’m not going to get my Giants tattoo removed and I’ll continue to collect. But this makes buying something 10 times harder.”


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/fo...#ixzz2u9PU5U11

[ironmanfan]

Interesting read...Perhaps I mssed it in another post but has Gmen92 been contacted by Steiner or is he pursuing receiving a refund?

[rudyjj18]

Reading about this debacle has made me extremely satisfied that I only collect MLB memorabilia. This story puts a huge damper on the hobby. Although, in the long run it should help the hobby and prevent this from happening again. Hopefully, teams and players get spooked after this story.

[GMEN92]

Interesting read...Perhaps I mssed it in another post but has Gmen92 been contacted by Steiner or is he pursuing receiving a refund?

No I haven't been contacted by them ..