(With today’s announcement that Oakland’s Warren Sapp is retiring after 13 illustrious years in the NFL, instead of paying tribute to no.99’s considerable pro and collegiate resume, I’ll instead regurgitate a CSTB post from 4/20 (dude!) 2005, along with an accompanying comment that may or may not be on the level.)
Years ago, I wrote to Warren Sapp asking if the Eat and Roach Motel were both drowning and he could only rescue one band, which would he save? It pains me to know that not only was this letter unopened and my attempts to forge a relationship with Warren were fruitless, but strangers will now be privvy to my most private thoughts, which I sought to share with the former University Of Miami defensive line standout.
From the Tampa Tribune’s Marty Strasen.
U.S. Postal Inspectors warn, “Tampering with mail will get you a new home, new friends and a new job,” on a poster depicting a man in a jail cell.
If mail tampering can be a federal offense, is selling or purchasing a 5-pound box of former Bucs star Warren Sapp’s unopened fan mail at a sports memorabilia auction against the law?
A Lakeland-based company is trying to find out before the end of the month, when it hopes to fetch a premium price for what it hopes will be one of the more unusual auction lots out there.
“We’re trying to get a legal opinion on this,” said Randy Kincaid of Kincaid Auction Co., which plans to host a sports memorabilia bankruptcy auction April 30 at 10 a.m. at 3809 East County Road 542.
“Of course, under our license, we can’t do anything that’s against the law. But we feel quite certain that [the box of fan mail addressed to Sapp] is legitimately owned by the party we got it from.”
The box of mail surfaced when Tampa-based PSC Collectibles, a sports memorabilia distributor, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to a release sent by Kenny Lindsay, president of American Eagle Auction & Appraisal Co. in Livonia, Mich.
The release noted that PSC’s remaining inventory – more than three large truckloads – was surrendered to Wachovia bank, which then hired Lindsay and Kincaid to auction off the memorabilia.
“It’s a bittersweet find,” Lindsay said of the letters, “simply because you feel bad for the fans who took the time to write Mr. Sapp and got nothing in return. On the other hand, this is a spectacular and one-of-a-kind collection for the sports memorabilia enthusiast.”
