Michael Irvin analogized the controversy he’s in with Marriott to a time when black men accused of harassing white women were hung from trees.
Irvin, the legendary former wideout for the Cowboys, was removed from his NFL Network broadcasting assignments during Super Bowl week after a woman at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel & Spa claimed he harassed her.
Irvin has denied wrongdoing and has sued Marriott in connection with the incident, and he spoke to reporters in Dallas on Wednesday about the matter.
“This sickens me,” Irvin said. “Because in this great country this takes me back to a time where a white woman would accuse a black man of something, and they would take a bunch of guys that were above the law, run into the barn, put a rope around his foot, and drag him through the mud and hang him by the tree.
Irvin said that his attempts to explain what happened and present witnesses have fallen on deaf ears.
“How can I defend myself, if I don’t even know what I’m defending myself against?” he asked. “They asked me if I remember this girl I met in the lobby.
“I work and live in hotels all year long, I meet people every day meeting in and out of a lobby.
“I couldn’t even tell you what she looked like! I don’t know! I don’t even know who I’m talking about.”
Irvin has repeatedly lobbied for Marriott to release its surveillance footage; and two judges ruled that hotel chain must comply with this request.
“This just blows my mind that in 2023 we’re still dragging and hanging brothers by a tree,” Irvin said. “That blows my my mind that I have no opportunity to defend — I don’t even know what I’m defending, and to not listen to the court, Marriott is above the law.
“I still haven’t seen this tape.”
In the same press conference, Irvin’s attorney Levi McCathern said he has watched the video and it exonerates his client.
“The allegations are nonsense, and we immediately need to get Michael back to work, and we need Renaissance to apologize to him,” McCathern said, according to Fox 4 in Dallas.
