Mark Jackson's NBA player card gained fame in recent days for an unusual reason. Photo / Supplied/news.com.au
Mark Jackson's NBA player card gained fame in recent days for an unusual reason. Photo / Supplied/news.com.au
On first glance it's nothing more than just a regular old school basketball playing card, I'll admit I've looked at this card dozens of times and never thought anything sinister about it.
The card, from the NBA Hoops 1990-91 season collection, shows third-year player Mark Jackson in front of thecrowd at New York's Madison Square Garden.
When you rip open the pack of cards and begin to scroll through, your eyes only pay attention to the player sitting front and centre.
Jackson enjoyed a stellar NBA career that spanned from 1987 to 2004 and saw him play for seven teams.
Currently fourth on the all-time assists list with 10,323 to his name, Jackson remained prominent in the NBA after his retirement thanks to his media work and move into the coaching space.
If those names don't ring a bell then here's a quick update on why everyone, not just basketball fans, have been losing their minds.
The brothers rose to notoriety during the early 90s when they were arrested and subsequently charged for the brutal murder of their parents.
A keen eye on reddit picked up the brothers before the Action Network's Darren Rovell confirmed the appearance came between the murders and their eventual arrest.
This checks out. Menendez murder happened Aug. 20, 1989. Brothers were apprehended March 1990. Photo was taken at MSG in 1989-90 season and set came out before 1990-91 season. https://t.co/n2vzRBA6Sg
Lyle and Erik Menendez, who at the time were 21 and 18 respectively, murdered their sleeping parents inside their Beverly Hills mansion on August 20, 1989 in a hail of shotgun blasts.
The brothers attempted to make the deaths look like an execution by the Mafia and weren't arrested until March 1990.
The pair went on a wild spending spree over the subsequent seven months after collecting on their parents' inheritance, but were eventually busted after Erik confessed to his psychiatrist.
Police were tipped off by the mistress of the therapist who had overheard the confession to the killings.
The brothers were initially tried separately, but both juries couldn't reach a verdict and following mistrials they were retried together.
Both were found guilty of first-degree murder in April 1996, nearly seven years later,and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
After 22 years apart the brothers were reunited in 2018 and are now both housed inside San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.
The facility does not limit interaction between inmates, and Erik's wife, Tammi Menendez, said the two killers enjoyed a "heartfelt reunion."
Lyle spent the last two decades in the Mule Creek State Prison near Sacramento, but asked in February for a reunion with his brother.
Surprisingly both men have found love and married wives while behind bars.
Lyle tied the knot to model Anna Erickson in 1996, before marrying Rebecca Sneed in 2003. His brother has been married to former pen pal Tammi since 1999.
After the pick up of the Menendez brothers, the cards became a hot topic for collectors with hundreds of them hitting online stores.
A few weeks ago the card could have been picked up for no more than 10 cents, but now they're going for above $20. One even sold for $77.
The market erupted for the cards after word spread about the Menendez brothers bizarre appearance with 187 cards selling on eBay in one day, per Darren Rovell.
Unfortunately for hopeful sellers the cards quickly began to be pulled from the eBay markets after violating the site's terms and conditions.
Sellers were notified of their listed item being removed and sent an email explaining why they're unable to offload the card on the site.
eBay has started to pull listings of the Mark Jackson-Menendez Brothers cards, telling sellers their items violate policy because they are “affiliated with a known murderer.” pic.twitter.com/ZMzqSgYh1M
"You listed an item affiliated with a known murderer. eBay does not allow items that were owned by or affiliated with many murderers and serial killers. While we appreciate that you have chosen to utilize our site, we must ask that you please not relist in this case," the email read.
"Affiliated with means items that are directly associated with the person. This can include (but is not limited to) objects like photographs, paintings, action figures, flags, sculptures, pins, books authored by the person, items they have owned, etc."
Of course not all sales of the cards have been removed from eBay and if buyers are truly keen to get their hands on one, they're listed on multiple different sites for sale.
All I know is that my one Mark Jackson card that came in the box I purchased from a Brooklyn flea market, isn't going anywhere any time soon. The story is just too good for me to part with.
