Marriott releases details of woman’s accusation against former NFL star Michael Irvin
Marriott International provided its own account of what happened during an encounter between Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and a hotel female employee last month.
The employee accused Irvin of inappropriate behavior and he was subsequently removed from assignments covering the Super Bowl by the NFL Network and ESPN.
Irvin quickly filed a $100 million lawsuit, claiming defamation and tortious interference in a business relationship, and as the case has wound through district court and now federal court, the hotel chain is fighting back with their own version of the encounter on Feb. 5 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown.
On Friday, in a 28-page motion obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Marriott first blasted Irvin's press conference on Wednesday in which the former Dallas Cowboys receiver said he was innocent, and added it took him "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 in a barn, put a rope around his foot and drag him through the mud and hang him by a tree."
"Irvin’s counsel provided a self-serving, inaccurate summary of the video footage Marriott produced, including his claim that the footage proves Irvin did nothing wrong and then turned the microphone over to Irvin to make racially charged statements," Marriott said in the filing.
LAWSUIT:Irvin maintains innocence, says Marriott hotel employee's allegation 'sickens me'
On Feb. 4, the day before the encounter, the National Football League asked the hotel to make them aware of any incidents involving guests that were staying in their block of rooms.
On the night in question, Marriott says that Irvin flagged down the accuser and "appeared to be visibly intoxicated" and began his aggressive behavior toward the employee, shaking her hand, stating she was attractive, and asking her if she watched football.
“Irvin also reached out and touched the Victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to step back, becoming visibly uncomfortable. Irvin then asked the Victim whether she knew anything about having a “big Black man inside of [her]," the lawsuit says.
“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 towards her.”
Two hotel employees noticed their co-worker was uncomfortable when she returned to work and the accuser went to work the next day and reported the incident to her manager, who told her to take the complaint to Loss Prevention, according to the lawsuit.
The accuser, who is identified as "victim" in the recent filing and "Jane Doe" in previous motions, was then interviewed by NFL investigators and Irvin left the hotel later that night.
The woman has yet to file any police complaint with Phoenix authorities.
In the same court filing, Marriott asked the court to issue a protective order to protect the privacy and safety of those whose identities can be ascertained in the video, fearing the video may go public and to limit the publicity in the case before it has gone to trial.
Irvin and his lawyers did receive an unredacted video of the lobby conversation on Friday after the court previously ordered Marriott multiple times to produce the discovery evidence.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marriott releases details of woman’s accusation against Michael Irvin