Lawyer Tony Buzbee refutes Shannon Sharpe’s claim he is ‘targeting Black men’

If you were to ask American sports fans to name all the lawyers they know by name, chances are Tony Buzbee would be among the most well-known.

That’s not for rosy reasons. The Houston-based lawyer has made his name in recent years representing those who accuse celebrities and athletes of sexual misconduct. Most notably, he represented 24 women who filed lawsuits against Watson, alleging sexual assault and inappropriate behavior during massage sessions. 23 of those cases have been settled.

And more recently, he represented Shannon Sharpe’s sexual assault accuser, who filed a $50-million lawsuit against the now-former ESPN talent (the case was recently settled with both sides acknowledging “a long-term consensual and tumultuous relationship”).

After Sharpe’s accuser filed that lawsuit, he pushed back publicly, saying it was a shakedown and accused Buzbee of “targeting black men.” (Buzbee has also represented accusers of Jay-Z and Diddy). At the time, Buzbee responded by sending TMZ an audio recording of what sounded like Sharpe threatening to choke his accuser.

Now that the dust, like the case, has settled, Buzbee sat down with Esquire to discuss his public profile and react to those kinds of accusations.

“I didn’t wake up one morning and say, ‘I want to sue Shannon Sharpe.’ He has no relevance in my life,” said Buzbee. “I actually think he’s very entertaining when he yells and screams and talks about sports that he’s not involved in. But if I think it’s a legitimate case, then I pursue it. And I think this is worth my time.”

To make his point further, Buzbee noted his history of high-profile cases goes far beyond celebrities and pro athletes.

“I guess a bunch of old white men could say I’m targeting them, and a bunch of multinational corporations could say I’m targeting them as well,” he says. “I guess you could say I was targeting BP.”

The lawyer rose to prominence when he represented over ten thousand clients against BP following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. His firm garnered over $500 million from the oil giant.

“Well, I probably was targeting BP,” he added.

While Sharpe probably wasn’t won over by Buzbee’s charms, given what was on the line, his lawyer did provide a statement that offered some insight into how the two sides were able to take such a contentious case and find a common ground.

“Like many highly successful individuals, Tony Buzbee is a complex and formidable figure,” wrote attorney Michael Marino. “In the matter involving Shannon Sharpe, although we stood on opposite sides of the legal aisle, our shared experience as former officers in the United States Marine Corps fostered a mutual respect that guided our discussions. That brotherhood enabled us to speak candidly and constructively, ultimately allowing us to reach a resolution that served the interests of all parties involved.”