- 1.2k
- Michael Irvin
Scooby Axson, USA TODAY
Sat, March 11, 2023 at 8:18 AM CST·3 min read
In this article:
- Michael Irvin
- American football player, actor, and sports commentator (born 1966)
Marriott International provided its own account of what happened during an encounter between Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and a hotel female employee last month.
The employee accused Irvin of inappropriate behavior and he was subsequently removed from assignments covering the Super Bowl by the NFL Network and ESPN.
Irvin quickly filed a $100 million lawsuit, claiming defamation and tortious interference in a business relationship, and as the case has wound through district court and now federal court, the hotel chain is fighting back with their own version of the encounter on Feb. 5 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown.
On Friday, in a 28-page motion obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Marriott first blasted Irvin's press conference on Wednesday in which the former Dallas Cowboys receiver said he was innocent, and added it took him "back to a time where a white woman would accuse a black man of something, and 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 a tree