Michael Irvin maintains innocence, says Marriott hotel employee's allegation 'sickens me'

Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, in his first public comments since he sued Marriott for $100 million, maintained his innocence and said it "sickens me" that he is being accused of inappropriate behavior by a hotel employee.

The former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver's news conference in Dallas came a day after Marriott was ordered to produce the items and documents sought in his lawyer's request for discovery. Irvin was accompanied by his agent Steve Mandell and attorney Levi McCathern, who described the incident from a viewed video and his client's vantage point. His attorneys also filed another motion in federal court for the video to be released.

Irvin is suing Marriott for $100 million after an employee at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel claimed he made “harassing and inappropriate” comments on Feb. 5 to the worker, who is listed as "Jane Doe" in court records.

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McCathern says he was able to view the video in question, but was not allowed to record it and says the video shows Irvin making contact four times with the accuser, twice brushing up against her elbow and twice shaking her hands. The accuser has not filed any police report with the Phoenix police department.

"The allegations are nonsense," McCathern said. "We need to immediately get Michael back to work."

Two witnesses who were with Irvin at the hotel and saw the incident appeared via video at the news conference and backed Irvin's claims of what happened.

"This sickens me," Irvin said. "It 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 in a barn, put a rope around his foot and drag him through the mud and hang him by a tree."

"How can I defend myself if I don't know what I am being accused of," said Irvin, who added that he hasn't seen the video. "I don't even know what this woman looks like. That blows my mind that in 2023, we’re still dragging and hanging brothers by a tree. (I) know I didn't do anything wrong."

The 56-year-old Irvin was in town to do analyst work for NFL Network and ESPN's Super Bowl coverage and was removed from the hotel later that night and subsequently pulled from those assignments after the incident became public.

In an attempt to get the case dismissed, Marriott argued that it has a "lack of personal jurisdiction" and does not own the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel, where Irvin and the staffer interacted.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Irvin addresses lawsuit vs. Marriott, employee's allegation