Football Hall of Famer Irvin sues Phoenix hotel over harassment claims
Michael Irvin, National Football League Hall-of-Famer and commentator, filed a defamation lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday against a woman who has accused him of sexual harassment as well as a downtown Phoenix hotel where the incident reportedly happened.
On Feb. 5, during Super Bowl week in Phoenix, Irvin, a former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, approached a woman working at Marriott’s Renaissance Hotel, where he was staying.
The next morning, Irvin was asked to leave the hotel after the woman told a hotel manager that he made unwanted advances and sexually harassed her. The hotel also reported the woman’s allegations to the NFL, which dropped him from Super Bowl coverage that day.
Irvin claims the allegations were unfounded and it was reported with “an evil mind” intending to harm his reputation and ability to earn a living.
Since the allegations: Though no criminal charges have been filed by the woman, Irvin has been on the defensive.
He claimed that this was a “modern lynching” at a news conference in February. He felt that his reputation was being attacked because he was a Black man.
He filed a defamation suit in Texas against the Marriott Hotel chain and the woman, asking for $100 million in damages. But he dropped the suit on Friday.
On Tuesday, he filed another defamation suit in Maricopa County Superior Court against the hotel chain, the woman, four other employees and the Renaissance Hotel Operating Company.
Irvin has not yet specified an amount in the lawsuit filed in Maricopa County.
Irvin remains suspended from NFL programming indefinitely.
In both the Texas and Arizona lawsuits, Irvin and his lawyers asked for a copy of video footage of the encounter that was captured by a hotel surveillance camera. Irvin’s team believes that it would clear his name in the court of public opinion.
What happened
Video showed: Irvin walked into the hotel lobby and walked toward the woman as she headed in a different direction. She walked over to him. They shook hands. He stepped toward her, and she backed away. He touched her left arm, and she raised her palms in front of him. Then he touched her left hand and leaned in. She pulled back, raised her palms again, and moved her hands behind her. Keeping their distance, they shook hands. She walked toward the center of the lobby, and he met a man with whom he later took a photo.
Irvin claims: In his court filing, Irvin held that he did nothing inappropriate.
The suit said that he was walking toward the elevator, and a woman called him back. “This innocent and brief interaction, lasting approximately one minute and occurring in front of numerous eyewitnesses, ended with a handshake,” the suit claimed.
“Mr. Irvin then went up to his room alone and without incident,” according to his complaint.
Marriott and the woman claim: In the Texas suit, Marriott filed a protective order against Irvin. The hotel explained what the woman said happened.
The hotel’s court filing explained that Irvin told the woman that she was attractive and “reached out to shake her hand, asked her name and introduced himself as ‘Michael.’”
Marriott alleged Irvin “reached out and touched the victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to step back, becoming visibly uncomfortable.”
“Irvin then asked the victim whether she knew anything about having a ‘big Black man inside of [her],” according to the court records.
“Taken aback by Irvin’s comments, the victim responded that his comments were inappropriate, and she did not wish to discuss it further,” court records alleged.
“Irvin then attempted to grab the victim’s hand again and said he was ‘sorry if he brought up bad memories’ for her. The victim pulled her hand away and tried to back away from Irvin as he continued to move towards her,” Marriott claimed.