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Jets' Sauce Gardner Gifted Custom Jessica Alba Cleats After Meeting at Knicks Game

Adam WellsMay 20, 2023

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 25: Sauce Gardner attends the Call of Duty Draft Activation at Loews Kansas City Hotel on April 25, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images for Call of Duty)
Fernando Leon/Getty Images for Call of Duty

Two weeks after being mocked by Aaron Rodgers for not knowing who Jessica Alba is, New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was gifted a custom pair of cleats featuring the actress' likeness.

Per TMZ Sports, artist Mike Jordan sent the cleats to Gardner after an amusing moment that occurred at Madison Square Garden during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and New York Knicks.

TMZ Sports @TMZ_Sports

Sauce Gardner Scores Custom Jessica Alba Cleats After Knicks Game Meetup <a href="https://t.co/p2dornxymR">https://t.co/p2dornxymR</a>

"I wanted to do something fun," Jordan told TMZ. "I hope Jessica likes them, too."

Rodgers and Gardner attended the May 2 game, with Alba sitting near the duo to watch the Knicks.

Speaking to reporters two days later, Gardner explained he had no idea who Alba was when Rodgers told him they were going to be sitting by her.

"He was just picking on me a little bit for being young. You know, like, we was getting seated and he was like, 'Oh, we're about to sit by'—what's her name?—'We're about to sit by Jessica Alba.' I'm like, 'Yeah, I don't know who that is,' and he looked at me like I'm crazy. You know what I mean? It was just great being able to sit over there and I got to meet her and one of her friends who was from Detroit actually. It was great vibes, but that whole night, he would just keep asking me out of nowhere, 'Do you know who that person is?' and I'm like, 'Bro, that's Amar'e Stoudemire, I know who that is. Now you just picking on me at this point."

Gardner did clarify on Twitter he's seen some of Alba's movies before, but he didn't check Google to see what her real name is.

D'ROY GARDNER @iamSauceGardner

Thank you lol.. I don't watch movies and look up people actual names. I know her as " Honey" &amp; "Storm"😂 <a href="https://t.co/XseZmqgCup">https://t.co/XseZmqgCup</a>

Alba was a good sport about the whole thing, even signing her response on Twitter with "Honey and Storm."

Jessica Alba @jessicaalba

Lol -I totally see how this kid Sauce got his name, he said to my girl <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizabethMxo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElizabethMxo</a> "How can I get caught up when I'm the catch" 😂 . But in all honesty he was actually very polite with his elder <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronRodgers12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AaronRodgers12</a> and everyone else in the room. It was nice meeting you…

In Gardner's defense, he's only 22 years old and Alba isn't a very prolific on-screen performer anymore. Her most recent on-screen credit that has been released was the television series L.A.'s Finest that only aired for two seasons on Spectrum from 2019 to '20.

Gardner and Alba presumably had a good time at the game. The Knicks earned a 111-105 victory over the Heat, though they would eventually go on to lose the series in six games.