Marriott has finally released details regarding an incident that occurred in early February involving former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin in Phoenix. A court filing now filed by the hotel chain gives a version of events that differs greatly from the story told by Irvin and multiple witnesses.
The details come after a federal judge said the company “clearly” violated an order to provide Irwin with video footage of the incident in question. In response to an emergency motion filed by Irvin’s legal team, the judge is allowing the video to be released publicly.
Marriott Movement, according to Michael Gehlken of Dallas Morning Newsdescribes an encounter with an employee that was initiated by a “visibly drunk” Irvin and quickly escalated into aggressive flirting, unwanted physical contact and a graphic Hall of Fame proposal.
Irvin filed a lawsuit against Marriott and the woman seeking $100 million in damages after he was sent home from his job covering Super Bowl LVII for the NFL Network.
According to the new court filing, written by Marriott’s attorney, Irvin “noticed” the woman at the lobby bar while she was working, asked about her job, told her he was attractive and introduced himself. The woman explained that she was not an NFL fan and did not know who Irvin was; Irvin allegedly told her to look him up on the Internet.
During this initial exchange, Irvin shook the woman’s hand and also touched her arm “without her consent, causing her to move away and become visibly uncomfortable.”
That’s when Irvin allegedly made the most disturbing accusation contained in the petition.
Irvin “asked the Victim if she knew anything about having a ‘big black man inside of her [her],’” according to the proposal of the court. “Taken aback by Irvin’s comments, the Victim responded that his comments were inappropriate and did not wish to discuss the matter further.”
“Irvin then tried to grab the victim’s arm again and said he was ‘sorry if it brought back bad memories,'” the motion continues. “The victim pulled her arm away and tried to move away from Irvin as he continued to move towards her.”
Two hotel workers apparently approached in an attempt to intervene, at which point Irvin broke off the encounter with another handshake, which Marriott’s legal team says the woman returned, “wanting the interaction to end.”
The former Cowboys star reportedly “declared that he would come back to find [the woman] sometime that week when she was working.” He also allegedly “snickered” at the woman as she was leaving and made suggestive comments overheard by another hotel employee, saying “She’s bad” and “I want to hit that.”
Irvin denied anything inappropriate happened and explained this week that he had not seen the hotel video or been informed of the exact nature of the woman’s complaints. He admitted, however, that he had been out drinking earlier that evening and did not remember the exact nature of his brief conversation with the woman.
However, Irvin compared the charges this week to a modern-day lynching. Earlier this week, two men the three-time Super Bowl champion had just met said they witnessed the entire exchange and saw nothing in the woman’s conversation or body language to cause any concern at the time.
Irvin’s attorney fired back at the new detailed allegations Friday.
“Total nonsense,” Levi McCathern said in a statement to Morning in Dallas News. “Marriott’s recently created account defies all eyewitnesses and Michael’s own testimony, as well as common sense. We will post the video next week. No sexual assault. The fact that Marriott is taking this stance is an insult to all the real female victims.”
“I was shocked by Marriott’s previous handling of this situation,” McCathern continued. “Now I am appalled and disgusted. I wish the trial was tomorrow so Michael could clear his name and get the compensation he deserves for Marriott’s wanton disregard for the truth.”
The woman reportedly shared her version of events with a co-worker that same evening and then told her supervisor about the incident the next morning.
The hotel reported the incident to the NFL, following guidelines established just a day earlier regarding any league employees staying at the hotel. The local police never received a criminal complaint in connection with the case.
Before U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant’s sentencing Friday, only McCathern saw the hotel video, which blurred the woman’s face. The judge was not satisfied with the hotel chain choosing to set their own terms about who can view the footage and how.
“It appears Marriott just looked at my order and didn’t want to produce the video,” Mazzant said.
A judge has now ordered the video to be produced “without changes”.
Irvin’s attorney says making the video public will be the key to freeing the NFL legend.
“Everyone watching [the video] they’re going to see what I saw and what the witnesses who were there saw,” McCathern said. “Michael did nothing wrong.”