Former Denver Nuggets center Chris “Birdman” Andersen claims that his longtime attorney and sports agent stole money from his bank account, handed Netflix the rights to his life story for free, and shuttered Crepes ‘n Crepes, his in-laws’ restaurant in Cherry Creek.
The allegations, contained in a lengthy and wide-ranging lawsuit Nov. 7, target Greenwood Village lawyer Mark Bryant, a one-time father figure to Andersen who claims to have coined the term “family CEO” to describe his legal and financial work on behalf of affluent clients.
“This is a case that should go under the heading ‘no good deed goes unpunished,’” Bryant’s lawyer, Jeff Springer of the firm Springer & Steinberg, said of the accusations.
“Mark Bryant rescued Chris Andersen when he was kicked out of the NBA for violation of the league’s drug policy,” Springer said of a 2006 incident. “Mr. Bryant took care of Mr. Andersen out of the goodness of his heart. He was never paid or took anything from Mr. Andersen.”
Andersen, 46, joined the NBA in 2001, after being signed by the Nuggets. Nicknamed Birdman for his leaps and wingspan, he played two seasons with the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-2006, was suspended for two years after testing positive for drugs, and returned to the Nuggets in 2008. He later bounced between three other teams before retiring in 2017.
A colorful figure and fan favorite with tattoos over a majority of his body, Andersen overcame hardships on and off the basketball court. In 2012, a Canadian woman named Shelly Chartier used phony social media accounts to coordinate a real-world relationship between Andersen and a 17-year-old girl, whom Andersen believed to be an adult. Andersen was investigated but not charged with a crime. Chartier served a year in prison for impersonation.
Through it all, Bryant represent Andersen. During his suspension from the NBA, he lived with Bryant’s family to help him stay sober, according to past media reports.
But since firing Bryant last year, Andersen has come to reevaluate his former agent’s work and now describes it in terms such as “theft,” “malpractice,” “betrayal” and “devastation.”
Much of that stems from Chartier’s crime, known as a catfishing scheme. Andersen said he told Bryant to advocate for Chartier’s extradition to the U.S., so she could face penalties here, but he failed to adequately do that. Andersen protested his government’s refusal to extradite by not paying taxes between 2015 and 2017 but then relented. Andersen said that Bryant later failed to send him his 2016 tax bill, leaving it unpaid and accruing fees.
After declining to discuss the catfishing scheme for years, Andersen decided to tell his story in the early 2020s and tasked his attorney with finding a way that allowed Andersen to maintain editorial control and get paid. Instead, unbeknownst to him, Bryant signed a deal with two production companies that achieved neither goal, Andersen said. Despite being interviewed for an unnamed Netflix project, Andersen claims that he has not been compensated.
Andersen fired Bryant on June 5, 2023, one day after …read more
Source:: The Denver Post – Business
