Derek Jeter finally reveals the truth about legendary gift basket story

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
·2-min read
In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Derek Jeter is considered to be one of the greatest players in modern baseball, and is one of the most-loved New York Yankees of all-time. And in his upcoming seven-part ESPN documentary "The Captain," he finally addresses the famous rumors about his romantic life: that he gave gift baskets to one-night stands as a parting gift the morning after.

Those rumors originally surfaced in a New York Post story in late 2011, which claimed Jeter was "bedding a bevy of beauties in his Trump World Tower bachelor pad โ€” and then coldly sending them home alone with gift baskets of autographed memorabilia." Emily Smith, the author of the story, wrote that the New York Post was contacted by a friend of a woman who had allegedly received not one but two gift baskets, because Jeter had forgotten he'd hooked up with her once before.

It's a juicy piece of gossip that has followed Jeter around for over a decade. In "The Captain," which premieres on July 18, he finally breaks his silence and says the story is completely untrue.

โ€œYeah, I read the article. Yeah, of course,โ€ says Jeter via the Daily Beast. โ€œYou know, you see it, and then itโ€™s like, how the f**k did people come up with this? You know, basically, thatโ€™s it. And who would believe this s**t? And you believed it!โ€

He continues: โ€œI remember being at a Starbucks one time and thereโ€™s some random guy behind me and he says, โ€˜Hey, I just want to let you know that Iโ€™m giving out gift baskets because you did.โ€™ And I turned around and said, โ€˜Youโ€™re a f**kinโ€™ idiot!โ€™ and the look on his faceโ€ฆ like, did he think I was gonna say, โ€˜Yeah, good job, man!โ€™โ€

โ€œItโ€™s a story that became larger than life. People keep regurgitating this story that never happened. Never happened,โ€ he concludes.

The gift basket story was one of the most ridiculous and well-known pieces of sports gossip from the past 15 years, but now we've reached the end of its life. Its gravestone will read "Gift Basket Story, 2011-2022" and feature what is sure to become an iconic Jeter quote: "Who would believe this s**t?"

Feb 19, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees infielder Derek Jeter (2) speaks to the media during an media availability at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter has finally revealed the truth about the famous gift basket story. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting