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Cowboys Legend Michael Irvin Picks a Side in Micah Parsons-DeMarcus Lawrence Beef

No. 88 knows a thing or two about winning Super Bowls in Dallas.
Michael Kadlick|
Irvin won three Super Bowls in Dallas.
Irvin won three Super Bowls in Dallas. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence spurned his long-time team in the Dallas Cowboys last week when he signed a three-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks on the first day of the NFL's new league year. Upon arrival in Seattle the following day, the 32-year-old kept said spurning going when he told a local Seahawks blogger that he knew he would never win a Super Bowl in Dallas.

A social media spat with former teammate Micah Parsons ensued—with Parsons calling him a clown before Lawrence wrote back, "Maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left."

Boom. Roasted.

And for those keeping score at home, Cowboys legend Michael Irvin has since picked a side in the ongoing beef between the two defenders.

"I'm gonna absolutely go with Micah Parsons here," Irvin explained on FS1's Speak on Monday. "...First of all, D Lawrence—and I love D Law—good man, played great for Dallas for a long time. But you have to self indict, since you were there. You can't just say, 'I ain't gon' win a Super Bowl in Dallas,' as if you were not on the football field. You were the reason why [they] didn't win. You are directly part of the reason you didn't win a Super Bowl in Dallas."

"Dallas had the No. 1 offense a few of those years," he continued—before relaying the perfect metaphor for the Cowboys' defense. "The problem was, that defense. That, what I call, 'Oprah Winfrey defense.' 'You rush for 200 [yards]! You rush for 200! You! You! You! You! Everybody rush for 200!' That he was part of... So yeah, I blame D Law. I put the onus on him."

Irvin was not only a three-time All-Pro wide receiver throughout his 12-year career, but also won three Super Bowl titles with the Cowboys—including their most recent one in January of 1996.

If any one knows what it takes to bring a Lombardi Trophy back to Dallas, it's him.

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Mike Kadlick
MICHAEL KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.

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