Five-year-old Frankie Desideri Jr. went viral on social media in December 2024 after San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama swapped his game-worn jersey with the minor’s replica following an NBA game.
The Spurs official X account even shared a photo and video of the exchange with the caption, “Best swap ever.” But the 21-year-old’s game-worn jersey was later put up for auction by the minor’s father, drawing outcry as the jersey was perceived to be a gift the 5-year-old had received from the French basketball star, cllct reported.
It now appears Desideri Jr.’s father has regretted selling the jersey as he recently filed legal documents seeking Goldin Auctions to reverse the sale of the jersey. The jersey was auctioned by Goldin Auctions, and Desideri Sr. in his Monday filing with the New York Supreme Court had sought for the company to be issued a temporary restraining order against the sale.
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Best jersey swap ever ???? pic.twitter.com/mcJxJQXlJI
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) December 28, 2024
Desideri Sr.’s request was, however, rejected by the court on Thursday. The ruling by the court came after the jersey in contention was sold for $73,000 at Goldin Auctions on February 22. The buyer who won the bid for the jersey has reportedly made payment and it has since been shipped.
The request stated that the minor’s family initially gave the green light for the jersey to be auctioned, but they later had a change of mind and asked for the sale to be halted. But they claim that did not happen. Desideri Sr. also told cllct that his son asked for the sale to be stopped because he regretted having agreed to put it up for auction.
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Desideri Sr. also claimed that he was unaware that a court needs to appoint a guardian when a child’s property valued at over $50,000 is being sold, hence the transaction was illegal. The family claimed that Goldin, while promoting the jersey, used images of Desideri Jr and Sr. – though they asked for that not to happen. The family said Goldin’s actions led to “widespread exposure” and caused them “emotional harm.”
But the founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, Ken Goldin, claimed that Desideri Sr. rather reached out to them about putting the jersey up for auction.
“We never contacted this individual and never knew who he was,” Ken Goldin said. “On Dec. 29, he contacted us first by going to Goldin.com and clicking the button that said ‘SELL.’ By Jan. 2 at 9:02 a.m., he had signed the consignment contract.”
Goldin in his response to the court on Wednesday said that Desideri Sr.’s request to halt the jersey sale stemmed from him going through a seller’s remorse. Goldin also said the request to halt the jersey sale was sent to the company a day before the auction ended.
