Throughout his Hall of Fame playing career with the Dallas Cowboys and even since Michael Irvin has been no stranger to controversy. Or, for that matter? Brushes with the law here and there.
Michael Irvin via NFL Films YouTube
Irvin has been arrested multiple times over the years for everything from drug possession charges to assault. Always volatile, the former University of Miami Hurricane has been known to display an explosive temper. One that he displayed quite often.
In an incident that took place at the Cowboys’ training facility in 1998, he stabbed teammate Everett McIver in the neck with a pair of scissors when the younger player refused to get up from a barber chair. Though McIver survived the attack, the wound could have been fatal.
Michael Irvin via NFL Films YouTube
Irvin’s checkered history also includes multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that date back to the early days of his playing career.
In 1996, a woman alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Irvin and his Cowboys teammate Erik Williams. Authorities concluded that her allegations were fabricated. The accuser later recanted her story. In 2007, Irvin was accused of sexual battery by a woman who said he got her drunk and raped her at a Florida hotel. Criminal charges were never filed, but she filed a civil lawsuit in 2010.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police investigated Irvin for an alleged sexual assault on March 22, 2017. Then, on July 24, the Broward County State Attorney’s Office announced they had closed the investigation and would not charge Irvin in the case.
Michael Irvin Photo Credit: Stephen Luke, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Flash forward to 2023. Prior to this year’s Super Bowl coverage, Irvin was pulled from his duties as a commentator for the NFL Network, due to more allegations. This time, it was for an exchange at a Marriott hotel between the Hall of Famer and the accuser. However, details both then and now regarding their interaction remains unclear.
Irvin immediately denied any wrongdoing, saying that his only interaction with the woman included nothing more than a mere handshake.
“We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know,” Irvin explained to The Dallas Morning News when the story broke.
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From the beginning, Irvin has professed his innocence, and he is now asking for surveillance video to be released to clear him of any wrongdoing. The Playmaker is also now pursuing legal action against the woman and the hotel chain, and he got a big win in the matter late last week.
Irvin’s lawyers had been arguing that he had the right to view the video, as the accusations involved could jeopardize not only his public persona but his potential to earn millions as a television personality, as well. In essence, they are looking to clear the star’s name completely.
“To this day… (Irvin) still does not know the who, what, when, or where of the allegations levied against him,” Irvin’s attorney Levi McCathern wrote Wednesday in his motion requesting the evidence.
Michael Irvin via NFL Films YouTube
It must have worked because it appears now that Marriott hotels and their parent company won’t have much choice in the matter. A federal judge ordered Marriott to release the Michael Irvin security video.
On Friday, things came to a head in the matter when Judge Amos Mazzant III ruled in the East District of Texas that Marriott has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to answer the request for “any and all video recordings, written reports, and/or witness statements gathered that pertain to Michael Irvin’s stay at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel in February 2023.”
This is not a notice to produce the video and other materials, it’s merely setting a deadline for Marriott’s response. It’s still not clear how this will all play out. And unless someone decides to fold, this could be a long standoff between the parties involved. In most legal situations such as these, it is essentially the ‘smoking gun,’ the evidence that will make or break a case. Marriott’s only argument here could be claiming that the footage is private property.
However, it’s looking more and more like the corporation will be forced to give up any pertinent material they have in relation to the complaint.
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