DALLAS — Former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin has filed a lawsuit over allegations that got him sent home from Super Bowl coverage this week in Arizona.
His lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Collin County where Irvin lives, is pursuing $100 million in damages over the allegations, which Irvin has denied.
The alleged incident involved a woman at an Arizona Marriott hotel and led to Irvin being pulled from the NFL Network's Super Bowl coverage.
Irvin denied any and all allegations Wednesday while sharing in his Shan & RJ radio interview that he had gone out on Sunday night with former Cowboys safety Michael Brooks.
"I don't remember, but I guess when I came in [to the hotel], they [the NFL Network] asked, 'Well, what did you do [last night]?'" Irvin said on the radio show. "I said, 'I went straight to the room.'"
In his lawsuit, Irvin's attorneys accused Marriott's employees and management of "inaccurately and inflammatorily" accusing Irvin of misconduct.
The lawsuit said Irvin had a "brief, friendly interaction with a Marriott employee lasting no longer than one minute" as he arrived back at the hotel Sunday night.
"Witnesses have verified that Mr. Irvin, casually exchanged pleasantries with one of the hotel employees, Mr. Irvin shook her hand, and went to his room alone," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Irving "appreciates spending time with his fans," including taking pictures and talking with them, and that his interaction with the Marriott employee "was no different and witness testimony will prove this to be the case."
"Nonetheless, Marriott recklessly reported to the NFL that Mr. Irvin had somehow acted inappropriately even though in this brief interaction with multiple witnesses, nothing took place other than a friendly interaction that ended with a polite handshake," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Irvin then went upstairs to his room. After he fell asleep, he was "shockingly woken up" by security and removed from the hotel.
Irvin's lawyer, Levi G. McCathern, said the Marriott's allegations "have caused over $100,000,000.00 in damages" to Irvin's reputation and endorsements.
McCathern said in a statement that his office had reached out to the hotel to talk about the situation but "they refused to speak to us."
"It is clear Michael is the latest victim of our cancel culture where all it takes is an accusation to ruin a person’s life," McCathern's statement said.
WFAA reached out to Marriott for a comment on the lawsuit. The hotel officials did not immediately respond.
