Giants defend Eli Manning amid false memorabilia claims

— -- Eli Manning turned over potentially incriminating emails this week in connection with a suit that claims the New York Giants quarterback knowingly provided false game-worn memorabilia to collectors, according to documents filed in a New Jersey court.

A 2010 email from Manning to a Giants equipment manager asks for "two helmets that can pass as game used," according to the documents filed Tuesday in Bergen County Superior Court.

Details of the suit were first reported by the New York Post.

Manning's email allegedly was sent after he was alerted by an agent that he needed to provide game-used equipment to satisfy a marketing contract he had with a memorabilia dealer. The suit also alleges that the Giants were complicit by deleting the email from its accounts, and that the equipment manager, Joe Skiba, was aware that the QB wanted to provide fake items because he did not want to part with his authentic equipment.

A spokesperson for the law firm representing the Giants issued a statement that read: "The e-mail, taken out of context, was shared with the media by an unscrupulous memorabilia dealer and his counsel who for years has been seeking to leverage a big payday. The e-mail predates any litigation, and there was no legal obligation to store it on the Giants server. Eli Manning is well known for his integrity and this is just the latest misguided attempt to defame his character."

Three memorabilia dealers are suing Manning, the Giants and others for their alleged roles in providing fraudulent items.