An old tennis racket belonging to tennis legend, Serena Williams has recently sold for more than $20, 000 at an auction in New Jersey.
The racket, described as a symbol of how black women are far too often maligned, misunderstood, and mistreated was smashed during an argument between Williams and umpire Carlos Ramos.
The 23-time grand slam champion was aiming for her record-tying 24th grand slam title but lost to Japanese player, Naomi Osaka who won her first grand slam title.
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The item was only one of a number of pieces of well-known sporting memorabilia that was up for grabs at Goldin Auctions. Some of the items include a Jesse Owens gold medal from the 1936 Olympics, the most expensive selling at $615,000, while a signed LeBron James rookie card from the 2003-4 season sold for $198,030.
“This was truly a remarkable event in both the wide assortment of items and the record prices realized for so many of them,” Ken Goldin, founder of Goldin Auctions, told CNN.
The damaged racket was given to Justin Arrington-Holmes, a ball boy who sold it for $500 to Brigandi Coins and Collectibles, a Manhattan-based sports memorabilia dealer, New York Times reports.
“Looking back I wish I’d had someone help me with the process,” said Holmes. “I was not familiar with how any of this works. I just wanted to get rid of it.
Other notable items include a signed check by Michael Jordan, which sold for $12,300, and a used Jerry Rice 49ers jerseys from 1995, which fetched $27,060.
