Marriott claims Michael Irvin made vulgar sexual advance towards employee

DALLAS - For the first time, we’re hearing the accusations that resulted in Cowboys Hall of Famer Michael Irvin being bumped from NFL Network Super Bowl coverage.

According to a court filing from hotel chain Marriott, a female hotel staffer accused him of "unwelcome sexual advances."

The filing came just hours before a win for Irvin’s legal team.

Marriott says it released these allegations in a court filing because of false statements Irvin and his attorney made during a news conference Wednesday.

Irvin’s attorney says the allegations are "hogwash," and they now plan to release security video of the incident.
Irvin appeared emotional Wednesday as he and his attorney held a news conference to discuss his defamation suit against Marriott.

He filed it after a Phoenix hotel employee reported misconduct against him, which later led to him be taken off NFL Network coverage leading up to the Super Bowl. 

"No, I didn't do anything wrong. I know I didn't do anything wrong," Irvin said Wednesday.

To that point, Marriott had publicly said almost nothing about what Irvin was accused of, but in a court filing Friday, Marriott said Irvin made unwelcome sexual advances toward a female employee.

The documents say when Irvin returned to the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel on February 5, he "appeared to be visibly intoxicated," and in conversation with the female staffer, asked a lewd question that's too graphic to detail on TV, but referenced intercourse with a Black man.

Attorneys for Marriott say: "Taken aback by Irvin’s comments, the Victim responded that his comments were inappropriate, and she did not wish to discuss it further…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 toward her."

According to Marriott, "two other Hotel employees noticed that the Victim had a look of concern on her face…Irvin then stated that he would come back to find her sometime that week when she was working."

Marriott goes on to say another employee walked over to Irvin after the victim walked away, and that "After Irvin finished leering at the Victim and turned back to Employee 1, he said aloud ‘she bad,’ ‘she bad…’" followed by a sexual remark.

He then "slapped himself in the face three times, saying ‘keep it together Mike.’"

Irvin’s attorney, Levi McCathern, said Friday that the allegations are "hogwash," and "none of this is backed up by the witnesses," referencing men who took part in Wednesday’s press conference, who said they were near the interaction.

"Basically, I heard some laughter, looked up, there was a few handshakes, there was more laughter and went their separate ways," Phil Watkins recalled.

"They had a very brief interaction that was super friendly, lots of laughter," Bryn Davis said.

Marriott is asking the judge to set limits on what can be said publicly in the case, specifically referencing comments made in this week’s news conference. 

"This sickens me because in this great country this takes me back to a time, where a white man, 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 the barn, wrap a rope around his foot and drag him through the mud, and hang him by the tree," Irvin said.

Irving is suing Marriott in a $100 million defamation case.

A point of contention in that news conference was that Marriott attorneys only allowed Irvin’s side to view security video of the interaction, but not copy it.

Friday, a judge agreed with Irvin’s team and ordered Marriott to turn over a copy by 5 p.m.

Irvin's attorney said he will release the video, but he had not decided when.     

Marriott is disputing how Irvin’s attorney described what happens in the video.