The game-worn Victor Wembanyama jersey from the infamous jersey swap with a young fan sold at auction over the weekend for $73,200.
On Monday, the boy’s father tried to get back the jersey in New York court. By Thursday, his request had been denied—but the legal fight may not be over.
Frankie Desideri Sr. filed a petition Monday in Westchester County against Goldin Auctions to stop the sale and transfer of a “minor’s item worth over $60,000.” He said multiple attempts had been made to withdraw the jersey from the auction, and he wanted to get a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Goldin.
The auction house responded Wednesday in court saying Desideri is “apparently experiencing seller’s remorse,” and that notice of his court filing only reached the company after the jersey had already been sold, paid for, and shipped out to its new owner.
The court held a hearing Thursday where it dismissed the temporary restraining order. “We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” Jonathan Parente, an attorney for Goldin, said in a statement to Front Office Sports.
Though the judge declined to block the sale, the case will continue, despite Goldin’s claim that New York was the wrong jurisdiction. Desideri tells FOS that he just wanted the jersey back.
As of Thursday afternoon, the online court docket did not shed any light onto what happened in the courtroom. The collectibles site cllct first reported that the restraining order request against Goldin was denied.
The saga began on Dec. 27 in Brooklyn when Wembanyama granted the wish on a young fan’s sign for a jersey swap. A few weeks later, news broke that the jersey was up for auction, which prompted the Spurs talent to respond with a crying emoji on social media. According to a filing from Goldin Auctions CEO and founder Ken Goldin, Desideri reached out to the auction house with interest in selling the jersey only two days after the game.
Last Thursday, the Spurs announced Wembanyama would be out for the rest of the season due to deep vein thrombosis—blood clots—in his right shoulder. On Friday, a day before the auction closed, Desideri requested to withdraw the jersey, according to the CEO’s filing. “As I understand it, Mr. Desideri may have changed his mind about the auction because he was concerned that this announcement would affect the price of the jersey,” Ken Goldin wrote.
Goldin does not give its sellers the ability to “unilaterally cancel an auction,” Ken Goldin wrote, citing the “Goldin Seller Agreement.” The filing says that on Jan. 2 Desideri signed the agreement, which states that the seller will not try to “interfere with or impede the sale of the Item(s).”
The auction closed Saturday night, the buyer paid Sunday morning, and Goldin shipped the jersey Monday, the CEO’s filing says, before receiving the show cause order.
“[Desideri] initially consented to auctioning his minor son’s jersey but lawfully revoked that consent prior to the auction’s conclusion,” Desideri’s Monday petition reads. “Despite this revocation, [Goldin] proceeded with the sale, violating [Desideri’s] rights as a guardian and disregarding contractual principles. Moreover, [Goldin] used [Desideri’s] and his son’s images in promotional materials despite clear, prior instructions that no images were to be attached to the sale.”
The petition also claims Goldin misrepresented the number of spots left in the auction, which Desideri says the action house did to “trick [him] into making a rash decision.”
This is a developing story and has been updated.
