NFL Giants Treasurer Jonathan Tisch this morning, in response to a N.Y. Post story, said the franchise "will defend itself" against a lawsuit from a memorabilia dealer who alleges the team and QB Eli Manning knowingly created and sold fake game-worn items in order to keep the real ones for themselves. Appearing on WFAN-AM's "Boomer & Carton," Tisch said it was the "first I'm hearing of it," and that he could not comment on "any pending litigation." Tisch: "The Giants will always defend themselves." He said the charges against Manning are "only allegations," adding, "We know that he is a first-class guy, comes from a fantastic family." Tisch noted he was appearing on the program to talk about N.Y. hosting Super Bowl XLVIII ("Boomer & Carton," WFAN-AM, 1/30). In the original report, the N.Y. POST's Kaja Whitehouse notes memorabilia collector Eric Inselberg filed a lawsuit yesterday in Bergen County (N.J.) Superior Court alleging the team and Manning "created bogus 'game-worn' football gear to pass off as the real deal." Inselberg claims that a helmet supposedly worn by Manning during the team's Super Bowl XLII victory in '08 over the 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 documents allege that Manning "took part in the scheme so he could hang on to his personal items." The allegations are "part of a civil-racketeering, breach-of-contract, malicious-prosecution and trade-libel suit" (N.Y. POST, 1/30).
