NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin has vehemently denied the sexual misconduct allegations made by an Arizona hotel employee during the week leading up to the 2023 Super Bowl. So much so that he’s filed a $100 million defamation suit, accusing the hotel where he stayed in Glendale, Ariz. of devising “a plan to turn him into the next victim of ‘cancel culture’ over something he says never happened.”
Last week, Irvin held a press conference, to publicize his innocence and to present witnesses that can corroborate his story. The former Dallas Cowboy says that he shook the woman’s hand, had a brief exchange and then walked back to his room alone. That’s all, according to Irvin. But over the weekend, Marriott International provided its side of the story of what happened between the Super Bowl champion and a female hotel employee.
In a filing from the hotel chain, they claimed that Irvin and his legal team have come up with a false narrative surrounding the footage that the hotel was able to provide that showed the interaction between Irvin and the hotel employee.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the hotel has its own version of what occurred that night and trust me, in their story, Irvin doesn’t just have a short exchange and then walk away.
More from Dallas Morning News:
Irvin asked what she did for work, told her he found her attractive, shook her hand and introduced himself as Michael, according to the document. When she said that she didn’t follow the NFL, he directed her to search his name on the Internet sometime.
“Irvin also reached out and touched the Victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to step back, becoming visibly uncomfortable,” Marriott attorney Nathan Chapman wrote in the document. “Irvin then asked the Victim whether she knew anything about having a ‘big Black man inside of [her].’ Taken aback by Irvin’s comments, the Victim responded that his comments were inappropriate, and she did not wish to discuss it further.
They further claimed that Irvin tried to grab her hand and attempted to apologize, but she backed away as he tried to move closer.
According to the filing obtained by the Dallas Morning News, the victim saw that other hotel employees were close by, and shook Irvin’s hand in return to end the uncomfortable interaction.
Looks like we have a classic case of he said/she said. But not according to Irvin’s attorney. Levin McCathern claims that all of the above details are completely false and says they will release a video next week to prove that no sexual misconduct or assault took place.
In any case, Irvin still has not been on ESPN or NFL Network since these allegations came up. Unless he can prove his innocence, it looks like he won’t be going back anytime soon.