NFL legend Michael Irvin says that the harassment allegations made against him remind him of when “white women” could accuse a black man of something and he would get hung “by the tree.”
Irvin was removed from the Renaissance Phoenix Hotel & Spa where he was staying in during Super Bowl week, after a woman in the hotel lobby told staff that the Hall of Famer had harassed her. As a result, Irvin was removed from all NFL Network coverage during Super Bowl week.
The former Cowboy has maintained his innocence and has sued Marriott for their handling of the situation.
On Wednesday, an emotional Irvin analogized the accusations against him and the handling of his case to a modern-day lynching.
“This sickens me,” Irvin explained. “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 into the barn, put a rope around his foot, and drag him through the mud and hang him by the tree.”
Ivin particularly lamented the apparent reluctance on the part of authorities to hear the witnesses he’d like to present.
“How can I defend myself, if I don’t even know what I’m defending myself against?” Irvin asked. “They asked me if I remember this girl I met in the lobby. I work and live in hotels all year long, I meet people every day meeting in and out of a lobby. I couldn’t even tell you what she looked like! I don’t know! I don’t even know who I’m talking about.”
Irvin continued, “This just blows my mind that in 2023 we’re still dragging and hanging brothers by a tree. That blows my mind that I have no opportunity to defend — I don’t even know what I’m defending, and to not listen to the court, Marriott is above the law.
“I still haven’t seen this tape.”
However, Irvin’s lawyer, Levi McCathern, has seen the tape, and he says it proves his client’s innocence.
“The allegations are nonsense, and we immediately need to get Michael back to work, and we need Renaissance to apologize to him,” McCathern said.
A pair of judges recently agreed with Irvin’s request for Marriott to release the tape and ordered the hotel to do so.
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