Michael Irvin: “This sickens me!”

Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin held a press conference yesterday in order to speak directly to the media for the first time since the stunning accusation against him by a woman at a Phoenix hotel that resulted in his being pulled from Super Bowl coverage and even removed from the hotel itself. 

He was joined by attorney Levi McCathern, who began by discussing how Marriott missed their deadline to turn over video surveillance of the alleged incident. 

“The deadline to give us the information was yesterday,” he said describing the encounter with Marriott's legal counsel. “When I appeared yesterday to get the video, to see the video, I was not allowed to make a copy of it. I was not allowed to take a copy. I was not allowed to use my cellphone to make a copy. We believe these things were in violation of the court's order.” McCathern continued, “Now, what is so damning about a video that was taken in a public lobby that they're now using to try to destroy this man's livelihood and reputation that they won't just release it?”

Irvin had this to say during the presser: 

“I haven’t seen this tape,” Irvin said. “I want to see what I’m being accused of, why I’ve had to put my whole life on hold, why family’s had to endure it. If I did something wrong, I’ll suffer the consequences of me doing something wrong. But if you did something wrong- you meaning them- then they should suffer the consequences of what they did wrong.”

He continued:

“This sickens me. Because in this great country, 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. Not a thought about what would happen. Not an investigation.” He continued, “This just blows my mind that in 2023, we still dragging and hanging brothers by a tree.”