Michael Irvin has been called “The Playmaker” for his magic during the Dallas Cowboys’ ’90s heyday, but now he’s getting plays in his favor in the courtroom. Irvin has been fighting to get his reputation salvaged after he was accused of misconduct while at a Marriott hotel in the week leading o Super Bowl LVII.
A federal judge concluded that the hotel chain “blatantly” violated a court order requiring them to relinquish the surveillance video showing the “altercation” to Irvin. Judge Amos Mazzant ordered the company to submit an unredacted video to Irvin’s lawyers by Friday’s close of business Central Time.
Judged
Irvin can make the video public during his $100 million defamation lawsuit.
“That’s the penalty you face,” Judge Mazzant said, adding that he was “dumbfounded” by the precautions Marriott affixed to its reluctant disclosure of the video. The judge was also remiss that he did not receive a copy as well as Irvin’s attorney Levi McCathern.
“I am not accustomed to, as a judge, people violating my orders,” Judge Mazzant said, emphasizing his annoyance with Marriott. The hotel chain’s attorney Celeste Creswell attempted to set the record straight, letting the judge know that the Marriott respects orders from the court.
However, the judge wasn’t having it.
“I’ll be very candid,” Judge Mazzant replied. “You haven’t shown that. That’s the reason we’re here. … Am I happy about that? No, I’m not happy about that. … It seems like Marriott just looked at my order and didn’t want to produce the video.”
Pick A Side
The alleged incident occurred at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, which claimed that the three-time Super Bowl champion made “harassing and inappropriate” comments on Feb. 5 to a worker listed as “Jane Doe” in court records.
Irvin’s attorney vehemently denies the accusation that cost her client NFL Network and ESPN’s Super Bowl-week programming duties.
“Total hogwash,” McCathern said in a statement Friday via The Dallas Morning News. “Marriott’s recently-created account goes against all the eyewitnesses and Michael’s own testimony as well as common sense. We will release the video next week. There is no sexual assault. The fact Marriott is taking the position that it is is an insult to all of the true female victims out there.”
Marriott’s lawyers released more details in a 28-page court filing that paint their case against Irvin.
The hotel now says Irvin flagged down the accusing employee while he was “visibly intoxicated.” The claims then evolve to Irvin’s alleged aggression toward the employee by shaking her hand, asking her if she watched football, and telling her to Google his name.
He allegedly touched the employee’s arm without her consent and asked if she knew anything about having a “big Black man inside of (her).” Then, the employee claimed that Irvin tried to grab her hand again, saying, “sorry if he brought up bad memories for her.”
Once Irvin saw security, the attorneys for the Marriott claim he offered his hand in a diplomatic stance that could end the conversation.
“Seeing that other Hotel employees were in the area and wanting the interaction to end, the Victim returned Irvin’s handshake,” per Marriott’s lawyers in the court documents. “Irvin then stated that he would come back to find her sometime that week when she was working.”
The hotel alleges that Irvin went further.
“After Irvin finished leering at the Victim and turned back to Employee 1, he said out loud, ‘She bad,’ ‘She bad,’ ‘I want to hit that,’ and slapped himself in the face three times, saying, ‘Keep it together, Mike,'” per the Marriott’s attorneys.
The Road To Perdition
Irvin and his legal team are now digging in their heels.
“I was shocked by Marriott’s prior handling of this situation. I am now disgusted and appalled. I wish the trial was tomorrow, so Michael could clear his name and get the compensation he deserves for Marriott’s reckless disregard for the truth,” said McCathern.
The Marriott doubled down on positioning Irvin as an aggressor and requested a protective order as part of Irvin’s lawsuit claiming to “ensure that Irvin and his counsel do not jeopardize the safety and privacy of the victim, the hotel’s employees, and its guests.”
The Playmaker vs. The Hotel continues to roil.
