Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin will not make any of his scheduled NFL Network or ESPN appearances for the remainder of Super Bowl week after a woman complained about his conduct during an encounter Sunday evening in Arizona.
Irvin described the interaction to The Dallas Morning News as a brief, public and largely non-physical encounter. He said he engaged in no physical contact with the woman beyond a handshake when they parted ways.
Irvin works for NFL Media but also makes guest appearances on ESPN. Neither organization commented on the exact nature of the woman’s accusation.
“Michael Irvin will not be a part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII week coverage,” said Alex Riethmiller, NFL Media vice president of communications, in a statement.
The interaction in question, Irvin told The News in a phone interview from Arizona, occurred Sunday in Glendale, the site of this Sunday’s Super Bowl, following dinner and drinks with former Cowboys safety Michael Brooks. Irvin returned to the hotel at which he is staying and struck up a conversation there with a woman.
“Honestly, I’m a bit baffled with it all,” Irvin said. “This all happened in a 45-second conversation in the lobby. When I got back after going out … I came into the lobby, and I talked to somebody. I talked to this girl. I don’t know her, and I talked to her for about 45 seconds.
“We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know.”
Irvin, a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, said he hadn’t seen the woman before or since their talk, which he estimated lasted up to a minute. He said he is unable to recall the full nature of their conversation but insisted the only physical contact between the two was the handshake.
“I don’t really recall that conversation, to tell you the truth,” Irvin said. “We were out drinking. It was just a friendly conversation. ‘What’s up?’ I don’t even know. … I am totally perplexed.”
Irvin indicated there is video of the lobby encounter but has not personally viewed the footage. He said he does not know the woman’s name.
Irvin appeared in NFL Network’s Monday coverage of the annual Super Bowl Opening Night ceremony, which featured players and coaches from the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. NFL Media officials afterward approached Irvin off-air, Irvin said, regarding what occurred the previous night.
A Glendale police spokesperson and officials from other local police agencies said Tuesday they have no knowledge of any incident involving Irvin. Irvin said there “absolutely was no sexual wrongdoing.”
“What law did I break?” Irvin said. “There was definitely nothing physical. … That’s honestly all that happened. Nobody was in my room. It was a 45-second conversation in the lobby, a handshake and we left. … I don’t know. I don’t know what this is, and it’s running me crazy.”
According to a news release ESPN distributed Monday, Irvin was scheduled to be a guest Friday on the sports debate show First Take with hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim. Irvin will no longer appear on First Take as planned, an ESPN spokesperson told The News on Wednesday.
