Gurley memorabilia dealer hires Atlanta attorney

ESPN reported Friday that a Villa Rica memorabilia dealer sent an email to the network and other media outlets last month claiming to possess a video of Gurley doing a private autograph signing. The dealer, Bryan Allen, wrote that Gurley had been paid thousands of dollars over the previous 18 months.

“I personally paid him for the signing on the video,” Allen wrote, adding that he’d also bought and sold game-used equipment from the player.

A photo attached to the email shows an African-American male who resembles Gurley signing a mini-UGA helmet inside a car.

Allen has retained Atlanta attorney Ed Garland, according to Garland’s legal assistant, Yvonne Quarterman. Garland, who has represented former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and other well-known figures in criminal cases, did not immediately return a phone message from the AJC.