Authentication of Jordan's $33K UNC shoes questioned
The auction house which sold what were said to be a pair of Michael Jordan's game-worn shoes from his freshman year at North Carolina is offering the winning bidder a chance to recover his money.
By
Eye on Basketball staff
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1 min read
The auction house that sold what were said to be a pair of Michael Jordan's game-worn shoes from his freshman year at North Carolina -- they sold for $33,387 on Thursday -- admitted Saturday there may be a validation issue with the shoes.
The auction house, Grey Flannel Auctions, is giving the winning bidder the opportunity to recoup his money, ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reports.
A Grey Flannel official told ESPN the auction house received a letter from a man who was UNC student manager, Lindsay Reed, claiming there is no way the shoes sold at auction could have been worn by Jordan.
From ESPN.com: "The 1981-1982 UNC basketball team did not wear blue Converse basketball shoes at any point during the...season," Reed wrote. "I challenge anyone to produce a photograph of a 1981-82 UNC basketball game (home or away) in which any member of the 1981-1982 UNC basketball team is wearing blue Converse shoes. No such photo exists."
After word of the sale started to spread, doubts emerged among those familiar with North Carolina basketball history. Broadcaster Wes Durham, whose father Woody was the "Voice Of The Tarheels" from 1971 to 2011, tweeted: "The shoe was worn prior to his arrival ('79 to '81), but don't recall that model being worn after he arrived."
Reed said in his letter that an older teammate of Jordan's may have given him the shoes, but there was no way Jordan ever wore them in a game because the team did not wear blue shoes in 1981-82.
