Cowboys Country

Cowboys Ex Michael Irvin Compares Marriott Accusation to Racist Lynch Mob ‘Hanging’

Michael Irvin - the Cowboys legend who has said from the start that he is "baffled'' by the accusation - filed a $100 million lawsuit against the unnamed accuser and the hotel for defamation.

Mike Fisher

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FRISCO - Michael Irvin is issuing a powerful and emotional statement comparing his treatment from accusers to a racist lynch mob “hanging.”

“In this great country, this takes me back to a time when a white woman would accuse a black man of something and they would take a bunch of men, Irvin said, “and drag him through the mud and hang him by a tree."

The Dallas Cowboys' Hall of Fame wideout has for the most part let his attorneys speak for him since being accused of inappropriate behavior against a Marriott hotel employee in Phoenix during Super Bowl week.

But Irvin - never afraid to speak up - has now done so in about the most impassioned manner while swearing he did nothing wrong.

Irvin was at the center of a press conference on Wednesday conducted by his attorneys Levi McCathern and agent Steve Mandell in an effort to prove his innocence of the charge.

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Two witnesses appeared live via video that they saw the supposed exchange involving Irvin and a woman and that there was nothing offensive about their seconds together in the hotel lobby.

Last month, Irvin - who has said from the start that he is "baffled'' by the accusation - filed a $100 million lawsuit against the unnamed accuser and the hotel for defamation.

It is the position of Irvin and his attorneys that he was in a hotel lobby amid meeting, greeting and posing for photos with fans that he had a brief interaction with a female hotel worker on Feb. 5, the Sunday start of Super Bowl Week.

Marriott - insisting that the celebrity's actions were "harassing and inappropriate" - had him moved from that hotel and as a result of the allegation, Irvin was removed from his scheduled work with NFL Network and ESPN.

Marriott has yet to abide by the court order to release its video of the exchange, though McCathern was finally allowed to see it and insists there is nothing offensive on display.

Said Irvin: “I did nothing wrong … "How can I defend myself if I don’t know what I’m defending myself against? … I want to see what I’m accused of. If I did something wrong, I’ll suffer the consequences. But if (my accusers) have done something wrong, they should suffer the consequences.”

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983 and the Dallas Cowboys since 1990, is the author of two best-selling books on the Cowboys.

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