There’s another controversy brewing in the wake of the (well-rated) NFC Wild Card game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints Sunday, and this one isn’t about whether Vikings’ tight end Kyle Rudolph should have been called for offensive pass interference on his game-winning catch in overtime (or even if Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira should have offered more of an opinion there). Instead, it’s about what happened to the gloves Rudolph used to make that catch. However, that controversy now seems to have a happier ending.
First, though, here’s how this started. On Wednesday afternoon, @flamingbagofpoo tagged Rudolph in a Twitter post to let him know that someone had sold those gloves on eBay, and Rudolph responded by saying a media member asked him to donate his gloves for a charity benefit.
I saw this.. it’s disappointing. A member of the media in the locker room after the game asked if he could have my gloves for a charity benefit, so I said of course and I will even sign them for you! Well he got me, sold on eBay 3 days later.. https://t.co/JCTO0OWM5n
— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph) January 8, 2020
And to clarify it was not anyone I knew.. so wasn't a local reporter I see daily or national reporter. Locker room was a zoo, he asked for them, I said of course and even offered to sign them… https://t.co/fCdU4RlhnP
— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph) January 8, 2020
As many people noted in replies to Rudolph, that sure seems like unethical behavior from the (unnamed) media member in question, especially as it doesn’t look like this was used for the stated purpose of a charity benefit. And if this was a media member obtaining memorabilia under false pretenses and selling it for personal cash, that’s extremely low. But even if this was for a charity benefit, the media member in question handled it poorly on several levels; the proper procedure to obtain items for a charity benefit would usually be to go through the team’s public relations department rather than approaching players individually, and a charity benefit should make it clear what the proceeds are going to, which this listing didn’t seem to do.
There have been cases of media members improperly taking memorabilia before, though, including the Tom Brady Super Bowl jerseys that were recovered in Mexico in 2017 from a credentialed member of the international media. And with Rudolph’s second tweet there indicating it wasn’t someone he knew, there’s also a chance this wasn’t a media member at all, but someone else who managed to gain access to the locker room.
At any rate, though, this now seems to have a better ending. The guy who bought them (Jason King) tweeted at Rudolph and said he’d donate to a charity of Rudolph’s choice; Rudolph proposed the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, King agreed, and Rudolph said he’d send King his gloves from next weekend’s game.
@KyleRudolph82 I’m the guy who bought them. I will gladly donate to a charity of your choice.
— Jason King (@kingy1940) January 8, 2020
Hey Jason, really cool of you to do this! @UMNChildrens will greatly appreciate it and I will make sure to get you my pair from this weekends game!
— Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph82) January 8, 2020
Thanks Kyle hopefully I can help turn this into a good situation and help raise some money for the children’s hospital
— Jason King (@kingy1940) January 8, 2020
And as of Thursday, that had raised over $14,000 for the children’s hospital.
[Kyle Rudolph on Twitter]
