'This Sickens Me': What's In the Michael Irvin Marriott Video?
DALLAS - Dallas Cowboys' Hall of Fame wideout Michael Irvin has heard enough.
But he hasn’t seen enough.
“How can I defend myself if I don’t know what I’m defending myself against?" Irvin said, getting emotional in a Wednesday press conference that addressed accusations of his alleged inappropriate behavior at the start of Super Bowl Week. “I want to see what I’m accused of.”
Irvin has countered the accusation with a $100 million lawsuit of against Marriott and a “Jane Doe” hotel employee in Phoenix
Irvin attorney Levi McCathern has seen the video tape that is in Marriott’s possession - a video that the court has ordered the hotel chain to turn over.
Marriott has yet to comply.
Irvin - who has said from the start that he is "baffled'' by the accusation - got emotional when discussing his frustration with Marriott declining to listen to his side of the story or to cooperate in any way.
“This sickens me because, in this great country, this takes me back to a time where a white woman would accuse a Black man of something,” Irvin said. “And then, they would take a bunch of guys that were above the law, run in a barn, put a rope around his foot, and drag him through the mud, and hang him by the tree.”
It is the position of Irvin and his attorneys that he was in a hotel lobby amid meeting, greeting and posing for photos with fans that he had a brief interaction with a staffer.
Marriott - insisting that the celebrity's actions were "harassing and inappropriate" - had him moved from that hotel and as a result of the allegation, Irvin was removed from his scheduled work with NFL Network and ESPN.
McCathern spoke on his viewing of the tape, suggesting it exonerates Irvin. McCathern said that Irvin and the woman - who came out from behind her post behind the front desk to greet Irvin - spoke for about a minute and a half. Per McCathern, Irvin twice shook her hand and twice touched her on the elbow twice, once while laughing.
Two witnesses appeared at the presser via Zoom to confirm the Irvin side’s story.
Irvin was both angry and saddened at times during the 25-minute session.
Said Irvin of Marriott: “Not a thought about what would happen, not an investigation, not after repeated attempts of people trying to go and say, ‘Guys, here is what really happened. Here are witnesses that will say this. Here are witnesses that will say that.’ They say, ‘We don’t want to hear them. We do not want to hear them.’”
Said Irvin, continuing his race-related parallel: “This just blows my mind that, in 2023, we’re still dragging and hanging brothers by a tree. That blows my mind that I have no opportunity to defend — I don’t even know what I am defending. ... Marriott is above the law because I still haven’t seen this tape.”
And finally, Irvin - tears in his eyes - on his habit of interacting with fans: “I just got emotional thinking about it because I’m struggling with that, on what to do moving forward after I deal with all of this.
“That’s all I want to say.”
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