Michael Irvin released a surveillance video Tuesday that captures a Feb. 5 conversation between the former Cowboys wide receiver and a female hotel staffer in Phoenix, footage that Irvin and his attorney hope can help restore his public image during an ongoing $100 million lawsuit against Marriott.
The conversation, which lasted about one minute and 45 seconds at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown hotel, was played for reporters during a news conference Tuesday held inside an Oak Lawn office building. The Dallas Morning News obtained a digital copy of the encounter. No audio is included, so it cannot be determined what exactly was said.
According to a Marriott court filing last Friday, the woman accuses Irvin of making a lewd comment, touching her without consent and saying that he would find her later in her work week. Specifically, per Marriott, a drunken Irvin allegedly asked if she knew anything about having a “big Black man inside of [her].”
“I don’t speak like that,” Irvin said Tuesday. “I’ve never spoken like that. I totally deny saying that. I totally deny saying that.”
Irvin also rebuffed the suggestion he posed any danger to the woman because of fear he’d find her later in the week. Irvin was forced to change hotels the next evening; Marriott said in its filing it was the NFL that, upon interviewing the woman and reviewing the surveillance video, removed Irvin from the property.
Irvin’s appearances on NFL Network and ESPN during Super Bowl week were canceled after the incident. Posted By Ghost
