No sooner did Peyton Manning dodge the ball in the Inflategate Scandal (pun intended), than Eli Manning finds himself named in a lawsuit alleging the distribution of fraudulent Giants memorabilia. A U.S. District Court judge in New Jersey ruled that the lawsuit – filed by one Eric Inselberg – may proceed, but in state court. The Giants, Eli and the other defendants had tried to shift the litigation to federal court believing it would be favorable to their side.
The Inselberg lawsuit came from criminal charges filed against Mr. Inselberg as the result of an FBI sting. The charges against Inselberg were dropped, but Inselberg is suing Manning and the Giants for the destruction of his business, the result of the charges filed against him. The lawsuit contends that Giants equipment manager Joe Skiba created fake memorabilia at the behest of team management and players, including helmets worn by Manning in each of his Super Bowl victories. Those were the good old days. In fact, one of the allegedly fake helmets is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Our point: If Manning had been playing wearing an authentic helmet, maybe the Giants would have finished better than 6-10 last season. Could they have done any worse?