The Pro Football Hall of Fame appears to be trying a misdirection play over Eli Manning’s Super Bowl helmet.
A spokesman for the Canton, Ohio, museum has publicly denied claiming an Eli Manning helmet on display was from Super Bowl XLII — but that denial is contradicted by the hall’s own Web site.
The site says the helmet and another game artifact “worn by New York Giants’ teammates Eli Manning and David Tyree in their team’s win over the New England Patriots arrived at the Hall of Fame in March 2009.”
That description of the helmet contradicts a statement made by Hall of Fame Vice President John Horrigan to NJ.com on Friday, when he said the helmet has been “displayed only as Eli Manning’s helmet,” not a Super Bowl artifact.
Horrigan had been asked about the possibility that bogus Giants artifacts have ended up in the hall — a possibility raised in a lawsuit claiming the team has for decades passed off fakes as real memorabilia.
Brian Brook, lawyer for the plaintiff in the suit — former memorabilia curator Eric Inselberg — says the hall’s apparent double talk bolsters his case.
“This is essentially an admission that fraud occurred,” Brook said.
Horrigan did not respond to a request from The Post for comment.
In his suit, first reported by The Post, Inselberg claims the Giants and Manning passed off dozens of pieces of bogus “game-worn” gear, including the helmet, as the real deal.
The Giants and Manning have denied the charges. The Giants did not return a call for comment.
“It is still disheartening to see the Hall of Fame join the chorus of those trying to rewrite history,” Brook said.
Inselberg claims Giants VP Pat Hanlon ordered up a fake Manning Super Bowl helmet in 2008 after learning that the genuine helmet had been sold to Inselberg.
In June of that year, Giants co-owner Jonathan Tisch proclaimed that “the fabled helmets” of Manning and Tyree would be on display in New York before a permanent move to Canton.
“[They] are the most celebrated symbols of the New York Giants upset victory in Super Bowl XLII,” he said.