Marriott releases details of unwanted sexual advances accusation against Michael Irvin

Marriot has released its own account of what happened during an encounter between Michael Irvin and a hotel female employee last month, accusing the NFL Network analyst of making unwanted sexual advances. 

The NFL legend was in Arizona to work the Super Bowl, but was removed from his broadcasting duties before the game after a female employee at the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel & Spa accused him of harassing her.

Irvin is now seeking $100million in damages from ‘Jane Doe’ and the Marriott – with the latter initially reluctant to share inside surveillance footage of the incident – and compared the situation to a modern-day lynching in a press conference.

Marriott filed a motion Friday in response related to the suit, fighting back with its own version of events from the encounter on February 5.

The motion seen by DailyMail.com claimed that the 57-year-old’s characterization of the incident was inaccurate and accused Irvin of making unwanted sexual advances, asking the employee ‘if she knew anything about having a “big black man inside of [her].”‘

‘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 claimed in the motion.

‘This 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 the barn, put a rope around his foot and drag him through the mud and hang him by the tree,’ Irvin had said in a press conference earlier this week. 

Marriott claims in the filing that Irvin ‘appeared to be visibly intoxicated’ and had approached the accuser, 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 other hotel employees reportedly noticed that their colleague was uncomfortable when they 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 filing also claimed that after the accuser left the interaction, Irvin turned to another employee, saying aloud, ‘she bad,’ ‘she bad,’ ‘I want to hit that,’ and then ‘slapped himself in the face three times, saying “keep it together Mike.”‘

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

Irvin’s attorney Levi McCathern denied the claims.

‘The allegations are nonsense,’ McCathern said. ‘We need to immediately get Michael back to work, and I believe Renaissance needs to apologize.’

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

While the chain wouldn’t give him a copy or allow him to record the footage, McCathern says the exchange between the accuser – a hotel worker – and Irvin seemed innocent.

McCathern says the tape shows Irvin and the woman meeting behind a pole before coming into the camera’s 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 touches on the elbow.

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

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

In addition to the video, McCathern produced two witnesses via Zoom who were in the lobby when the alleged incident occurred – saying they didn’t see anything inappropriate between the two. 

The two men who were in a Phoenix hotel lobby the night that Hall of Fame wide receiver Irvin was accused of misconduct with a female employee said they didn’t see him do anything wrong and that his brief interaction with the woman appeared friendly. 

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

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 untoward out of the interaction,’ and Irvin soon left for the elevator as the woman went back toward the bar, Watkins said.