Jason King thought he had made a smart move when he purchased Kyle Rudolph’s gloves on eBay following the Vikings' dramatic 26-20 playoff victory over the Saints. Those were the same gloves that Rudolph was wearing when he caught the game winning touchdown in overtime, and King, a Vikings memorabilia collector and lifelong fan from New Jersey, couldn’t wait to receive them.
“I was ecstatic. Honestly. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe I was going to own Rudy's gloves,” he told News Talk 830 WCCO host Cory Hepola on Thursday.
But by now you’ve probably heard what happened next. Rudolph had given the signed gloves to someone who was allegedly a member of the media in the locker room after the game, and that person had told Rudolph the gloves would be donated to charity — not sold for profit. When King saw Rudolph express his frustrations over what happened, he realized he had to do something.
King agreed to donate the gloves to the hospital, but it didn’t end there. Ebay also agreed to make a donation and then members of the public started pitching in via an online portal. Within hours, the hospital had raised over $10,000.
King said he just wanted to get the gloves back to Rudolph. “You know, and what he does off the field is….. no one can match it. And I just felt like they needed to go back to him and that's all I was trying to do and was trying to maybe raise a little bit of money. I didn't anticipate this, you know, it's pretty amazing,” he said.
King says he hasn’t received the gloves yet, but has said if he doesn’t get them he will donate the $375 he paid for them to Rudolph’s charity. And Rudolph, meanwhile, has said he will give the gloves he wears during the 49ers game to King.
“I didn't anticipate it taking off like this, you know? It's awesome. It's such a good movement,” King said.
Listen to the full conversation here: