1990-91 Hoops Mark Jackson card causes stir in the hobby

More than 25 years after it was released, the 1990-91 Hoops Basketball card of Mark Jackson (No. 205) has found new notoriety, as it appears that Erik and Lyle Menendez are pictured in the background of the photo on the card. Both Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted and are currently serving life sentences for murdering their parents on Aug. 20, 1989. On the card, they appear to the left of Jackson’s image, and are seated courtside.

Speculation that it is the Menendez brothers in the background of the card gained momentum on the website Reddit. This information was eventually tweeted and it went viral prior to the weekend of Dec. 8-9. Darren Rovell, of The Action Network, reported that the photo of Jackson was taken during the 1989-90 season, which lines up with the timeline between the murders and when the Menendez brothers were arrested in March 1990.

The new information about the card created a selling frenzy on eBay, as the card went from selling for pennies to prices that ranged between $10 and $25 per card.

On Dec. 10 Rovell reported that eBay was removing sales listings of the card, informing sellers that selling the card violated eBay policy because it is “affiliated with a known murderer.” As of the morning of Dec. 13, there were still more than 500 listings on eBay for the card in question.