Cowboys legend Michael Irvin re-files $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott in Arizona

As part of his ongoing $100 million defamation lawsuit against Marriott and an unidentified employee, Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin and his attorneys shared security footage of his February 5 exchange with the woman, which he and his lawyers say it supports their version of events.

“When the conversation is over, the complaining employee looks very happy,” attorney Levi McCathern told reporters at Tuesday’s news conference in Dallas.

Marriott accused Irvin of asking the woman if she had “a big black man inside of her,” but he denied that accusation at Tuesday’s news conference.

“This is not sexual assault, this is not sexual harassment, this is not sexual misconduct,” Irvin said of the security footage, which was recorded at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel & Spa. Our conversation was about soccer.

The 3-minute, 38-second video has no sound, so the details of the exchange remain unclear. Irvin and the unidentified woman speak for nearly two minutes in the footage, which McCathern recounted to the media.

Irvin has voluntarily dismissed his $100 million defamation suit against Marriott and Jane Doe that accused him of sexual harassment to refile in Arizona, where the suit has more jurisdictional relevance.

The case was previously filed in Texas, but that presented several procedural hurdles, according to Irvin’s attorney.

The refiled lawsuit now names multiple defendants, including: Marriott International, Renaissance Hotel Operating Company, hotel employees Diaeldin Waziry, Lee Ann Vinciguerra and Tracy Stoltz, as well as Irvin’s accuser, listed as ‘Jane Doe ‘.

The 57-year-old was in Arizona in early February to cover Super Bowl LVII, but was relieved of broadcast duties and removed from the hotel after an employee at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel & Spa accused him of harassing her.

On Friday, in a 28-page motion obtained by DailyMail.com, the hotel chain shared its account of what transpired between Irvin and a Marriott employee on February 5 at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown. Marriott claimed that a “visibly intoxicated” Irvin made unwanted sexual advances to the employee, claiming that she was attractive and asking if she watched football before making a lewd comment to the woman.

“Irvin also reached out and touched the victim’s arm during this conversation without her consent, causing her to back away and feel visibly uncomfortable,” Marriott claimed in its motion. ‘Irvin then asked Victim if she knew anything about having a ‘big black man inside’. [her].’

“Irvin then attempted to grab the Victim’s hand again and said ‘I’m sorry if it brought back bad memories.'” Victim pulled her hand away from her and tried to move away from Irvin as he continued to move toward her.

The hotel chain also disputed Irvin’s side of the story, which he shared at an earlier news conference earlier this month.

“Irvin’s lawyer provided a self-serving and inaccurate summary of the video footage Marriott produced, including his claim that the footage proves Irvin did nothing wrong and then handed the microphone over to Irvin to make racially charged statements,” Marriott asserted in Friday’s motion.

Speaking to reporters on March 8, Irvin characterized the accusations against him as racist.

“This takes me back to a time when a white woman would accuse a black man of something and they would take a bunch of guys who were above the law, run around the barn, put a rope around his foot and They dragged him through the mud.” and hang it from the tree,’ Irvin told reporters on March 8.

Two other hotel employees allegedly noticed that their colleague was uncomfortable when she returned to work. The accuser went to work the next day and reported the incident to her manager, who told her to take the report to Loss Prevention, according to the lawsuit.

Marriott’s filing also claims that after the accuser left the interaction, Irvin turned to another employee and said loudly, “She’s mean, she’s mean” and “I want to hit that.” He then “punched himself in the face three times, saying ‘keep calm Mike,'” according to Friday’s motion.

The accuser was later interviewed by NFL investigators and Irvin left the hotel later that night after being approached by security.

Irvin’s attorney, Levi McCathern, denied the claims.

“The accusations don’t make sense,” McCathern said. “We need to get Michael back to work immediately, and I think Renaissance should apologize.”

Marriott finally turned over video of the Phoenix, Arizona Marriott hotel after a federal court ordered the chain to do so.

Although the network would not give him a copy or allow him to record the footage, McCathern says the exchange between the accuser, a hotel worker, and Irvin appeared innocent.

McCathern says the tape shows Irvin and the woman meeting behind a pole before entering the camera’s field of view.

The lawyer says Irvin was seen touching the woman only four times, twice for a handshake to say hello and goodbye, as well as two nudges on the elbow.

“She never acts upset,” McCathern said of the woman’s behavior.

‘She doesn’t act like there’s any problem at all.’

In addition to the video, McCathern introduced two witnesses via Zoom who were in the lobby when the alleged incident occurred and said they saw nothing inappropriate between the two.

The two men who were in the lobby of a Phoenix hotel the night Hall of Fame wide receiver Irvin was accused of misconduct with an employee said they saw him do nothing wrong and that his brief interaction with the woman seemed friendly.

Phil Watkins of Australia and Bryn Davis of Philadelphia appeared at a news conference via video link with Irvin and his lawyer.

Watkins said he saw “nothing at all” that could be considered inappropriate, and that Irvin and the woman shook hands and laughed.

“There was nothing wrong with the interaction,” and Irvin soon left for the elevator as the woman returned to the bar, Watkins said.

Irvin’s accuser has not filed a complaint with Phoenix police.

In Friday’s filing, Marriott asked the court to issue a protective order to protect the privacy and safety of the people in the video.

Irvin and his lawyers received the unedited version of the video on Friday.