Hall of Famer and current NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin is currently under investigation for sexual battery in Florida, TMZ reported on Wednesday.
The alleged incident took place in Fort Lauderdale, at a hotel where Irvin was staying. According to TMZ:
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports, a 27-year-old Florida woman filed a police report, claiming she and the NFL Hall of Famer were out at a bar in the early hours of March 21 when they went back to the W hotel, where Michael was staying.
The woman says they were in Michael’s room when she began to feel sick. She says the last thing she remembers is fighting him off. She says when she woke up he was about to check out, leaving her behind. She took an Uber home and called 911 at 7:30 AM.
She told cops she feared she was drugged and raped. She was advised to go to a medical lab for a swab and a blood test, which she did.
She says she also texted Michael, asking him if they had sex. She says he responded that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
Our sources say Michael, now an analyst at NFL Network, tells a very different story. He says he was out at a bar with a group of people, including the woman, until around 4:30 AM March 21, when he returned to his hotel and she followed. Michael says he had an early flight, was in the room for only 15 minutes and had no sexual contact with the woman. He also says another male was present.
He says the woman — a cosmetologist — texted him a day later saying, “Come for a facial when you get back to Ft. Lauderdale.
Parallels will inevitably be drawn between Irvin, and an incident involving former NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp. Sapp got arrested in 2015 for assault, and soliciting a prostitute the night before the Super Bowl. The NFL Network fired Sapp over that incident.
Would they do the same with Irvin?
As pointed out by Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing, the police arrested Sapp for that incident prior to him getting fired. Irvin has not been arrested, and at this time is just under investigation.
However, the 51-year-old Irvin has had similar accusations made against him in the past. Irvin settled a lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault six years ago. In addition, he and Cowboys teammate Erik Williams were accused of sexually assaulting a cheerleader in 1996. Though, the accuser eventually recanted and pled guilty to perjury.
According to TMZ, Irvin’s lawyer Larry Friedman staunchly maintains his client’s innocence, “The allegations are completely false. …Nothing happened and there was no assault.”
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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