The Playmaker may have been benched from NFL Network’s coverage of Super Bowl Week from Glendale, but he’s not accepting the punishment without a counter move.
On Thursday, former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin filed a $100 million lawsuit against the woman who filed a complaint against him earlier in the week, as well as the parent company of the hotel where the misconduct allegedly occurred. The Hall of Famer says he is being “railroaded” as a target of “cancel culture.”
Irvin was removed from the week’s scheduled programming and sent home after an unknown woman complained to the hotel about the 56-year old ex-player. Irvin acknowledges that he met a woman Sunday night in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel and maintains that he had “a 45-second conversation” with her there.
But he says network representatives confronted him with a different version of events the next day.
“I guess the girl said I said something to her within that minute that we talked,” he explained.
Now he is firing back with a nine-figure lawsuit.
The suit, according to TMZ Sports, reads, in part:
“Rash and thoughtless actions can have severe consequences. Marriott [the parent company of Renaissance Hotels] apparently did not appreciate these simple truths when, in a rush to judgment, its employees and management inaccurately and inflammatorily accused Mr. Irvin of misconduct to the National Football League.”
Irvin provided eyewitnesses who reportedly corroborated his version of events, but “they say the Renaissance refused to listen,” per TMZ.
“In fact, the lawsuit accuses the hotel manager of reporting the alleged incident to the NFL ‘with the intention of damaging that relationship and canceling [Irvin].'”
The $100 million figure in the lawsuit comes from Irvin’s now-damaged reputation, according to his legal team, as well as earnings lost from other appearances in Glendale that had to be canceled as a result of the allegations.
“It is clear Michael is the latest victim of our cancel culture where all it takes is an accusation to ruin a person’s life,” Irvin’s lawyer said in a statement issued to TMZ. “Michael looks forward to clearing his name in court and hopes the court of public opinion will see the truth come out as well.”
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